Wearable electronic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11567457-B2
Application number	US-202217899498-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 30, 2022
Priority date	Sep 2, 2014
Publication date	Jan 31, 2023
Grant date	Jan 31, 2023

Abstract

A consumer product that is a portable and, in some cases, a wearable electronic device. The wearable electronic device may have functionalities including: keeping time; monitoring a user's physiological signals and providing health-related information based on those signals; communicating with other electronic devices or services; visually depicting data on a display; gather data form one or more sensors that may be used to initiate, control, or modify operations of the device; determine a location of a touch on a surface of the device and/or an amount of force exerted on the device, and use either or both as input.

First claim

We claim:

1. A wearable electronic device comprising:
a housing defining a first opening and a second opening;
a display positioned at least partially within the first opening;
a front cover positioned over the display and defining at least a portion of a front exterior surface of the wearable electronic device;
a rear cover positioned at least partially within the second opening and defining an optically transparent window and a protruding convex surface;
a wireless charging receive coil positioned within the housing between the rear cover and the front cover, wherein the wireless charging receive coil is aligned with the second opening; and
a biosensor module comprising:
an optical sensor aligned with the optically transparent window;
a first electrode positioned along a rear surface of the wearable electronic device;
a second electrode positioned along the rear surface of the wearable electronic device; and
a third electrode positioned along a side of the wearable electronic device, wherein:

the wearable electronic device is configured to measure a first physiological parameter of a wearer using the optical sensor; and
the wearable electronic device is configured to measure a second physiological parameter using the first electrode, the second electrode, and the third electrode.

2. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:
the wearable electronic device further includes a watch band coupled to the housing and configured to couple the wearable electronic device to a user;
the optical sensor is a photoplethysmography sensor; and
the first electrode, the second electrode, and the third electrode are part of an electrocardiograph sensing system.

3. The wearable electronic device of claim 2 , wherein:
the optical sensor comprises a light source and a detector;
the light source and the detector are configured to measure changes in light absorption by a region of skin of the user;
the wearable electronic device is configured to compute a respiration rate using the measured changes in light absorption; and
the display is configured to display information associated with the respiration rate.

4. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first physiological parameter is a respiration rate.

5. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the second physiological parameter is a heart rate.

6. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the optical sensor comprises:
an optical emitter configured to emit light; and
an optical detector configured to receive a reflected portion of the emitted light.

7. The wearable electronic device of claim 6 , wherein:
the optical emitter is a first optical emitter configured to emit light having a first wavelength; and
the optical sensor further comprises a second optical emitter configured to emit light having a second wavelength different from the first wavelength.

8. The wearable electronic device of claim 7 , wherein:
the optical detector is a first optical detector;
the reflected portion of the emitted light is a first reflected portion of the emitted light; and
the optical sensor further comprises a second optical detector configured to receive the reflected portion of the emitted light.

9. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the wearable electronic device is configured to measure an electrocardiographic characteristic using the first electrode, the second electrode, and the third electrode.

10. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:
the wearable electronic device is configured to compute a health metric using the biosensor module; and
the health metric is one or more of: a heart rate, a respiration rate, a blood oxygenation level, a blood volume estimate, or blood pressure.

11. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:
the wearable electronic device further comprises a first magnet positioned within the housing;
the first magnet is configured to couple to a second magnet positioned within a charging dock; and
the first and second magnets are configured to maintain alignment of the wearable electronic device with respect to the charging dock.

12. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:
the wearable electronic device further comprises a near-field communication system; and
the near-field communication system is configured to transmit signals through one or more of the housing, the front cover, or the rear cover.

13. An electronic watch comprising:
a housing;
a touch-sensitive display positioned at least partially within the housing;
a rear cover positioned at least partially within a rear opening defined along a rear portion of the housing, the rear cover defining at least a portion of a rear exterior surface of the electronic watch and having an optically transparent portion;
a wireless charging receive coil positioned within the housing and aligned with the rear opening defined along the rear portion of the housing;
a battery operably coupled to the wireless charging receive coil;
an antenna positioned within the housing and configured to facilitate wireless communications with an external device;
an optical sensor positioned within the housing and configured to emit an optical signal through the optically transparent portion;
a first electrode positioned along the rear exterior surface of the electronic watch;
a second electrode positioned along the rear exterior surface of the electronic watch; and
a third electrode positioned along a side of the electronic watch, wherein:
the electronic watch is configured to measure a first physiological parameter of a wearer using the optical sensor; and
the electronic watch is configured to measure a second physiological parameter using the first electrode, the second electrode, and the third electrode.

14. The electronic watch of claim 13 , wherein:
the electronic watch further comprises a first magnet positioned within the housing;
the first magnet is configured to couple to a second magnet positioned within a charging dock; and
the first and second magnets are configured to maintain alignment of the electronic watch with respect to the charging dock.

15. The electronic watch of claim 13 , wherein:
the electronic watch further comprises a near-field communication system; and
the near-field communication system is configured to transmit signals through one or more of the housing or the rear cover.

16. The electronic watch of claim 13 , wherein the electronic watch further comprises one or more communication channels that are configured to transmit and receive data over a wireless communications interface.

17. The electronic watch of claim 16 , wherein the wireless communications interface comprises one or more of radio frequency cellular interfaces, Bluetooth® interfaces, or Wi-Fi interfaces.

18. The electronic watch of claim 13 , wherein the rear cover defines a convex exterior surface.

19. The electronic watch of claim 18 , wherein the rear cover protrudes outward from the rear exterior surface of the housing to facilitate alignment between the rear cover and a mating surface of an external wireless charging device.

20. The electronic watch of claim 18 , wherein the convex exterior surface is configured to protrude toward a portion of skin of the wearer when the electronic watch is worn.

21. The electronic watch of claim 13 , further comprising an input device positioned along a side of the housing.

22. The electronic watch of

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Rothkopf Fletcher R
• Ive Jonathan
• Hoenig Julian
• Zorkendorfer Rico

Classifications

• A61B5/14552

  Details of sensors specially adapted therefor · CPC title

• G04G21/025

  for measuring physiological data · CPC title

• A61B5/0205

  Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition · CPC title

• A61B5/02427

  Details of sensor · CPC title

• A61B5/0295

  using plethysmography, i.e. measuring the variations in the volume of a body part as modified by the circulation of blood therethrough, e.g. impedance plethysmography · CPC title