Multi-sided PCB for contact sensing

Inventors

Trapero Martin, Ana • VERMEER, Michael Daniel • Asselin, Mathew • Ironstone, Joel Steven

Assignees

Biotricity Inc

Abstract

A wearable monitoring device can include an electronics module containing a printed circuit board (PCB) to which one or more sensors are coupled. The one or more sensors can include one or more contacting sensors and/or one or more non-contacting sensors. In some cases, the wearable monitoring device can include an onboard power supply (e.g., a battery) and a wireless communication antenna. The PCB can be constructed to specifically include the one or more sensors on a first side facing the skin of the user when the wearable monitoring device is being worn, allowing one or more processors, memory, and other components to be included on the opposite side facing away from the user. Certain components, such as the power supply and wireless communication antenna, can be spaced apart from the PCB and located opposite the PCB from the one or more sensors.

Core Innovation

The wearable monitoring device positions an electronics module against the skin of a user. The electronics module includes a printed circuit board (PCB) having a first side facing towards the skin and a second side facing away from the skin, at least one contact sensor coupled to the first side, one or more processors and at least one memory coupled to the second side, and a housing for containing the PCB.

The device includes a flexible patch securable to the skin of the user, and the flexible patch includes a receptacle for receiving the electronics module. The housing includes one or more interlocking features that engage corresponding interlocking features of the receptacle to removably secure the electronics module within the receptacle.

The flexible patch includes a set of electrode pads electrically couplable to the skin of the user when the flexible patch is secured to the skin, and a set of flexible traces connecting the electrode pads with the plurality of electrode contacts of the electronics module when the electronics module is removably secured within the receptacle. In related embodiments, contact sensors and non-contact sensors are aligned via a sensor window so non-contact optical sensors are exposed to the skin without making contact, while contact sensors physically interface with the skin.

Claims Coverage

The document provides three independent claims. Across these claims, the core inventive features are the dual-sided PCB/electronics layout with skin-facing contact sensing, removable securing via an interlocking receptacle on a skin-secured flexible patch, and non-contact optical sensor packaging through a sensor window aligned with a contact-sensing surface, with divider and electromagnetic component placement also recited in one claim.

Across the independent claims, the wearable monitoring device centers on an electronics module with a PCB that separates skin-facing contact sensing and electrode contacts from processors and memory on an opposite side, removable securing of the module within an interlocking receptacle carried by a skin-securable flexible patch, and electrical coupling of electrode pads to module electrode contacts via flexible traces. Additional claim-dependent packaging features include a divider and an electromagnetic component opposite the contact-sensor side, and a non-contact optical sensor exposed through a translucent or transparent window whose bottom surface is coplanar with a contact-sensor sensing surface.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications

No documented applications found