Wearable Computing Device
Patent No. US12399531 (titled "Wearable Computing Device") was filed by Jpmorgan Chase Bank Na on Feb 28, 2025.
What is this patent about?
’531 is related to the field of wearable electronic devices, specifically those designed for continuous monitoring of a user's physiological data and activity. The background acknowledges the increasing popularity of wearable technology but highlights the limitations of existing devices, such as their bulkiness and potential for discomfort, which can hinder long-term wearability and consistent data collection. This creates a need for a more unobtrusive and comfortable wearable form factor.
The underlying idea behind ’531 is to create a compact, finger-worn ring device that can be worn comfortably for extended periods, enabling continuous monitoring of physiological parameters and user activity. This is achieved by integrating various sensors, a flexible circuit board, and a battery within a small, ring-shaped housing. The design prioritizes a form factor that minimizes intrusion into the user's daily life while maximizing the potential for consistent and reliable data acquisition.
The claims of ’531 focus on a wearable ring device with specific dimensional constraints (width between 3 mm and 8 mm, and a thickness between 1.5 mm and 3 mm) and construction. The device comprises a metallic external housing with flanges that define an internal space, and an internal potting material that encapsulates the electronic components, including a curved battery, a printed circuit board, and sensors. The sensors include an accelerometer or gyroscope, a temperature sensor, and LEDs paired with light sensors for measuring heart rate and blood oxygenation.
In practice, the device works by continuously monitoring the user's skin temperature, movement, heart rate, and blood oxygenation levels using the integrated sensors. The data is processed by a microcontroller on the flexible circuit board and can be transmitted wirelessly to a paired device, such as a smartphone, for further analysis or display. The curved battery, conforming to the ring shape, provides power for the sensors and processing circuitry. The metallic housing provides structural integrity and protection for the internal components, while the internal potting ensures a comfortable fit against the user's skin.
The design differentiates itself from prior approaches by combining a small, comfortable form factor with a comprehensive set of sensors for continuous physiological monitoring. The use of a metallic external housing and internal potting provides both durability and comfort, while the curved battery maximizes space utilization within the ring-shaped enclosure. The specific arrangement of LEDs and light sensors allows for non-invasive measurement of heart rate and blood oxygenation through the skin, enabling a wide range of health and fitness tracking applications.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the early 2010s when ’531 was filed, wearable computing devices were at a time when systems commonly relied on miniaturization of components and efficient power management rather than advanced sensor fusion or complex AI processing. At a time when X was typically implemented using Y, wearable devices often prioritized basic activity tracking and data display, when hardware or software constraints made B non-trivial, such as continuous heart rate monitoring or extended battery life in small form factors.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The examiner approved the application because the prior art neither discloses nor suggests a wearable ring device with the specific structural limitations claimed. These limitations include specific sizing, an external housing, internal potting covering electronic components, one or more batteries fitting inside a curved portion, a first and second LED for emitting visible and either infrared or near-infrared light, and a sensor for detecting the light and measuring a user's heart rate and blood oxygenation. While a related art teaches a wearable ring device that detects biometrics of a user such as blood oxygen level, it fails to disclose the particular limitations regarding structure and additionally was filed after the priority date of the present application.
Claims
This patent includes 20 claims, with independent claims 1, 9, and 17. The independent claims are directed to a wearable ring device with specific housing dimensions and components for sensing user data. The dependent claims generally elaborate on the features and functionalities described in the independent claims.
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Date
Description
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US12399531
- Application Number
- US19067643
- Filing Date
- Feb 28, 2025
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Nov 28, 2034
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents