US 10,987,054 B2Granted

Wearable electronic device with electrodes for sensing biological parameters

AssigneeApple Inc.

InventorsSameer Pandya, Adam T. Clavelle, Erik G. de Jong, Michael B. Wittenberg, Tobias J. Harrison-Noonan, Martin Melcher, Zhipeng Zhang, Steven C. Roach, Steven P. Cardinali

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An electronic device, such as a watch, has a housing to which a carrier is attached. The carrier has a first surface interior to the electronic device, and a second surface exterior to the electronic device. A set of electrodes is deposited on the exterior surface of the carrier. An additional electrode is operable to be contacted by a finger of a user of the electronic device while the first electrode is positioned against skin of the user. The additional electrode may be positioned on a user-rotatable crown of the electronic device, on a button of the electronic device, or on another surface of the housing of the electronic device. A processor of the electronic device is operable to determine a biological parameter of the user based on voltages at the electrodes. The biological parameter may be an electrocardiogram.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An electronic watch comprising:

a housing member;
a display at least partially enclosed by the housing member;
a carrier assembly coupled to the housing member and comprising:
a carrier member formed from a transparent material;
a first electrode positioned on the carrier member, operably coupled to a processor and configured to detect a first voltage;
and
a second electrode positioned on the carrier member, operably coupled to the processor and configured to detect a second voltage, the first and second electrodes at least partially surrounding a first region of the carrier member and a second region of the carrier member;
a light emitter positioned below the first region of the carrier member;
a light receiver positioned below the second region of the carrier member and configured to receive light reflected from a wrist;
a third electrode coupled to the housing member, operably coupled to the processor, and configured to detect a third voltage;
and
the processor positioned within the electronic watch and configured to determine an electrocardiogram using the first voltage, the second voltage, and the third voltage.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/841,543Filed 6 Apr 2020 · continuation
Priority: 5 Sep 2017
Published: US 2020/0229761 A123 Jul 2020
Granted: 27 Apr 2021
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification16 codes

A61B 5/681
Sensor mounted on worn items: wristwatch-type devices
A61B 5/02405
Measuring pulse rate or heart rate: determining heart rate variability
A61B 5/02427
Using photoplethysmograph signals, e.g. generated by infrared radiation: details of sensor
A61B 5/02438
Measuring pulse rate or heart rate: with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient

Family

Application62/554,196Us provisional application · filed 5 Sep 2017
Application62/644,886Us provisional application · filed 19 Mar 2018
Application16/118,282Parent of this continuation · filed 30 Aug 2018
Application16/193,836Parent of this continuation · filed 16 Nov 2018
US 2020/0229761 A1Pre-grant publication · published 23 Jul 2020
US 10,610,157 B2Parent of this continuation
US 11,432,766 B2Related patent
US 2019/0072912 A1Published application
US 2019/0101870 A1Published application
US 10,987,054 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.