This description generally relates to sensor-equipped athletic garments, and specifically to conduit designs for electrically coupling sensors on the garment.
A garment can include sensors that record a variety of information about the human body. For example, electrocardiograph (ECG) electrodes can measure electrical signals from the skin of a person that are used to determine the person's heart rate. In addition, electromyography (EMG) electrodes can measure electrical activity generated by a person's muscles. Heart rate and muscle movement information may be useful for evaluating the person's physiological condition, for instance, while exercising. The sensors may be electrically coupled to a processing unit and/or a power source (e.g., a battery) via a plurality of conduits coupled to the garment.
As the garment may be designed to conform and stretch as a user wearing the garment performs an exercise, it is desirable for the conduits to have a certain amount of elasticity to adjust as the fabric of the garment stretches. However, the garment and the conduits are composed of materials having different elastic behavior and differing levels of durability. Also, seams of the garment may be areas of high stress concentrations as the fabric stretches, causing further strain on conduits that pass over the seams. In addition, the conduits may corrode over time due to friction or sweat during use of the garment and as the garment is washed and re-used. Moreover, some components of the exercise feedback system may be on an outside surface of the garment, such as the processing unit or the power source, while the sensors are positioned on the garment to make physical contact with the skin of a user wearing the garment and, thus, are on an inside surface of the garment. Accordingly, it is challenging to design garment conduits that are durable yet flexible and are able to create conductive pathways between different portions of the garment.
An athletic garment includes sensors that are located at different portions of the garment. The sensors are electrically coupled to a processing unit and/or a power source via one or more conduits.
In one embodiment, the garment comprises a first garment segment and a second garment segment. The first garment segment comprises a first edge, and the second garment segment comprises a second edge and is coupled to the first garment segment such that the first edge abuts the second edge, forming a seam along the first edge and the second edge. A buffer material is coupled to a surface of the first garment segment and the second garment segment such that the buffer material surrounds at least a first side of the seam. An electrical conduit is coupled to the surface of the first garment segment and the second garment segment such that a portion of the electrical conduit overlaps the buffer material and the seam.
In one embodiment, the garment comprises a first garment segment and a second garment segment. The first garment segment comprises a first electrical conduit on a first side of the first garment segment, where a portion of the first electrical conduit is exposed on a second side of the first garment segment through a hole within the first garment segment. The second garment segment comprises a second electrical conduit on a first side of the second garment segment, where a portion of the second electrical conduit is exposed on a second side of the second garment segment through a hole within the second garment segment. The hole within the first garment segment and the hole within the second garment segment are aligned such that the second side of the first garment segment and the second side of the second garment segment contact each other and where the first garment and the second garment are coupled together by a conductive material coupling the first electrical conduit to the second electrical conduit via the hole within the first garment segment and the hole within the second garment segment.
The disclosed embodiments have other advantages and features which will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The figures depict embodiments of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.
In the embodiment shown in
It should be noted that while the garment 100 shown in
Generally, the garment 100 is made of fabric that includes, but is not limited to, cotton, cotton hybrids, polyester, polypropylene, nylon, spandex/LYCRA®, or any blend or combination thereof. These types of fabrics allow the garment 100 to conform to a user's body and to stretch as the user performs an exercise. Each sensor is embedded within the fabric and positioned such that the sensor can make physical contact with the skin of the user wearing the garment 100. Each sensor on the garment 100 is communicatively coupled to the processing unit 190 via conduits 195. Although the conduits 195 illustrated in
Given that the garment 100 is designed to conform and stretch as a user wearing the garment 100 performs an exercise, it is desirable for the conduits 195 to have a certain amount of elasticity to adjust as the fabric stretches. In addition, the conduits 195 may corrode over time due to friction or sweat during use of the garment 100 and as the garment 100 is washed and re-used. Since the garment 100 and the conduits 195 are composed of materials having different elastic behavior and differing levels of durability, the conduits 195 may be printed in various configurations to improve the elasticity and durability of the conduits 195. Moreover, some components of the exercise feedback system may be on an outside surface of the garment 100, such as the processing unit 190 or a power source (e.g., a battery). As previously described, the sensors are positioned on the garment 100 to make physical contact with the skin of a user wearing the garment 100 and, thus, are on an inside surface of the garment 100. To connect the different components, the conduits on the garment 100 may be arranged in different configurations to transfer conductivity between the different sides of the garment 100. The configurations are discussed in further detail with regards to
In the embodiment of
In some embodiments, the holes 245a, 245b may be created in the garment portions 100a, 100b before the conduits 240a, 240b are printed onto the garment portions 100a, 100b. As the conduits 240a, 240b are printed, the conductive ink may collect and fill in the holes 245a, 245b. In other embodiments, an inlay material having respective holes may be attached to the garment portions 100a, 100b before the conduits 240a, 240b are printed onto the inlay material. In other embodiments, a hole may be created in a single piece of fabric, and a conduit may be printed on both sides of the piece of fabric over the hole such that the ink creates a connection over the edge of the hole. In some embodiments, the fabric of the garment 100 may be a porous material, such that the conductive ink may flow through the garment portions 100a, 100b rather than a hole in the garment portions 100a, 100b. In yet other embodiments, instead of conductive ink, a conductive pin, conductive grommet, conductive rivet, or other conductive material and/or structure is inserted through the conduit 240a, the holes 245a, 245b, and the conduit 240b, thereby establishing an electrical coupling between the conduits 240a, 240b. The conductive rivets may be designed to contact and/or compress against conductive material surrounding the holes 245a, 245b to provide a connection between the conduits 240a, 240b. In some embodiments, a conductive pin or a conductive grommet may include a sharp point or sharp feature for piercing through one or more layers of fabric and/or the conduits 240a, 240b to create a hole and establish a circuit between the conduits 240a, 240b. In this configuration, the holes 245a, 245b may be created by the conductive pin or grommet after the conduits 240a, 240b are printed onto the garment portions 100a, 100b. In some embodiments, the conductive pin, grommet, or rivet may be covered with conductive ink or conductive glue after it has been attached and connected to the conduits 240a, 240b.
Stress concentrations may also occur at the boundary at which a conduit connects to another component of the exercise feedback system (e.g., sensors, power source, processing unit) due to a sudden height change or sudden material change (i.e., sudden change in elastic properties). A height gradient 275 may also be used at these boundaries to lessen the sudden change and spread the stress concentration over a greater area.
In some embodiments, a redundancy pattern may be used to cross a conduit over a seam. In these embodiments, the conduit may split into an array of conduits that each cross the seam. In this configuration, if one conduit fails, there are remaining conduits to retain the conductive pathway. In addition, one or more of the conduits may be designed to take a majority of the strain earlier on such that those conduits fail before the other conduits in the array. In this way, the life cycle of the remaining conduits begins after the initial conduits fail.
In some embodiments, a conduit may be formed using several layers of different conduit materials (e.g., silver and carbon layers) that have different elastic parameters. Different conductive materials may have different stretch properties and different changes in resistance with stretch along different axes. Layering the different conduit materials may then reduce resistance changes with stretch and reduce noise coupling to the physiological signals with stretch. In this configuration, the different conduit materials may help each other absorb forces as the garment stretches. In addition, a conduit layer made of silver is more prone to corrosion, and a conduit layer of carbon may protect it and improve the overall durability of the conduit. In some embodiments, a conduit may include an additional material (e.g., zinc or other more corrosive material) that is layered on top of the silver and carbon layers to serve as a sacrificial layer and further protect the silver and carbon from corrosion (e.g., from sweat).
In some embodiments, a conduit may include a coating that improves its resistance to abrasion and corrosion. For example, an encapsulant polyurethane layer may further protect the conduit. As another example, a hydrophobic layer may repel water, which may decrease corrosion of the silver and carbon layers. In some embodiments, a conduit may include a layer that is conductive or semi- or electro-static that may shield the conduit from interference or noise. The conduit configurations described above may be used alone or in combination with each other.
Throughout this specification, some embodiments have used the expression “coupled” along with its derivatives. The term “coupled” as used herein is not necessarily limited to two or more elements being in direct physical or electrical contact. Rather, the term “coupled” may also encompass two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other, or are structured to provide a thermal conduction path between the elements.
Likewise, as used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elements and components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the invention. This description should be read to include one or at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise.
Finally, as used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
Upon reading this disclosure, those of skilled in the art will appreciate still additional alternative structural and functional designs for camera controllers as disclosed from the principles herein. Thus, while particular embodiments and applications have been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the precise construction and components disclosed herein. Various modifications, changes and variations, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the method and apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope defined in the appended claims.
This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/198,769 filed on Nov. 22, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/590,143, filed Nov. 22, 2017, all of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62590143 | Nov 2017 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 16198769 | Nov 2018 | US |
Child | 17368722 | US |