Wearable athletic activity monitoring systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9737261-B2
Application number	US-201313797274-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 12, 2013
Priority date	Apr 13, 2012
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

A sensor garment for monitoring an individual engaged in an athletic activity includes a garment formed of textile material, and a sensor module inseparably coupled to the textile material of the garment. The sensor module includes a single-purpose sensor configured to sense a single characteristic, and a radio antenna configured to transmit data generated by the single-purpose sensor. The sensor module includes no external port.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sensor garment for monitoring an individual engaged in an athletic activity, the sensor garment comprising:
a garment formed of textile material; and
a sensor module inseparably coupled to the textile material of the garment,
wherein the sensor module comprises a sensor,
wherein the sensor module comprises a radio antenna configured to transmit data generated by the sensor,
wherein an exterior of the sensor module is portless, and
wherein the sensor module comprises a flexible printed circuit board.

2. The sensor garment of claim 1 , wherein the sensor module comprises and is powered by one of a thin-film battery and a super capacitor.

3. The sensor garment of claim 1 , wherein the sensor module comprises a near field communication circuit.

4. The sensor garment of claim 1 , wherein the sensor module comprises and is powered by one of a solar cell, a kinetic energy conversion unit, and a thermoelectric generator.

5. The sensor garment of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a single-purpose sensor configured to sense a single characteristic.

6. The sensor garment of claim 5 , wherein the sensor module comprises no sensor in addition to the single-purpose sensor.

7. The sensor garment of claim 1 , wherein the sensor module is sewn, laser welded, or adhered to the garment.

8. The sensor garment of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is an acceleration sensor.

9. The sensor garment of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a magnetic field sensor.

10. The sensor garment of claim 1 , wherein the sensor module is sealed within a waterproof membrane.

11. The sensor garment of claim 1 , wherein the sensor module is sealed between two layers of thermoformable film or membrane.

12. The sensor garment of claim 11 , wherein the two layers are films of thermoplastic polyurethane.

13. The sensor garment of claim 1 , wherein the sensor module comprises a power source configured to be charged by inductive charging.

14. The sensor garment of claim 1 , wherein the sensor module is configured to receive power through a near field communication radio transmission.

15. The sensor garment of claim 1 , comprising an external component removably coupled to the textile material of the garment and configured to electronically connect with the sensor module.

16. The sensor garment of claim 15 , wherein the external component comprises at least one of an external memory device, an external power source, and an external radio antenna.

17. A sensor garment for monitoring an individual engaged in an athletic activity, the sensor garment comprising:
a garment formed of textile material;
a sensor module inseparably coupled to the textile material of the garment; and
an external component removably coupled to the textile material of the garment and configured to electronically connect with the sensor module,
wherein the sensor module comprises a sensor,
wherein the sensor module comprises a radio antenna configured to transmit data generated by the sensor, and
wherein the sensor module comprises and is powered by one of a thin-film battery and a capacitor.

18. The sensor garment of claim 17 , wherein the sensor module comprises and is powered by the capacitor, and
wherein the capacitor is a super capacitor.

19. A sensor garment for monitoring an individual engaged in an athletic activity, the sensor garment comprising:
a garment formed of textile material; and
a sensor module inseparably coupled to the textile material of the garment,
wherein the sensor module comprises a sensor,
wherein the sensor module comprises a radio antenna configured to transmit data generated by the sensor,
wherein the sensor module comprises a near field communication circuit,
wherein the sensor is a single-purpose sensor configured to sense a single characteristic, and
wherein the sensor module comprises no sensor in addition to the single-purpose sensor.

20. The sensor garment of claim 19 , wherein the sensor module is a flexible printed circuit board.

21. The sensor garment of claim 17 , wherein the external component comprises at least one of an external memory device, an external power source, and an external radio antenna.

Assignees

• Adidas Ag

Inventors

• Coza Aurel
• Dibenedetto Christian
• Munson Ian Michael

Classifications

• A61B5/002

  Monitoring the patient using a local or closed circuit, e.g. in a room or building (A61B5/0017 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A63B2220/20

  Distances or displacements · CPC title

• A61B5/0022

  Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet · CPC title

• G16H40/67

  for remote operation · CPC title

• A61B5/0002

  Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network (endoradiosondes A61B5/07) · CPC title