Patent Application Titled “Elastic Photoelectric Sensor Module” Published Online (USPTO 20200146559)

2020 JUN 02 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by NewsRx journalists, a patent application by the inventors Yuan, Haiquan (Zhejiang, China); Zhou, Congcong (Zhejiang, China), filed on November 8, 2019, was made available online on May 14, 2020.

The assignee for this patent application is Hangzhou Megasens Technologies Co. Ltd. (Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Detection of human physiological parameters based on principle of photoelectric technology has been widely used in many aspects such as monitoring of critically ill patients in clinic, monitoring of intraoperative anesthesia, recovery of postoperative patients, screening and management of sleep apnea syndrome, and community medical monitoring. This technology is safe and reliable and can be performed continuously and non-invasively in real time. Continuous research on the principles and continuous improvement in measurement methods have promoted the development of detection technology of human heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and blood pressure, and it is very meaningful to design an elastic photoelectric sensor module that can perform monitoring in various general health management scenarios. A typical scenario based on ‘Internet+Health Care’ also requires a new generation of detection devices to have features of intelligentization, hardware miniaturization, and low power consumption. Real-time monitoring of multiple physiological parameters can be provided in a home-centered health management system and services can be provided for early disease screening, diagnosis, and personal health care based on new intelligent equipment.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent application, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “In view of deficiencies in the present art, an object of this invention is to provide an elastic photoelectric sensor module, so that accurate measurement of physiological signals based on the principle of photoelectric detection is ensured when proper contact pressure is applied under comfortable wearing. The elastic photoelectric sensor module is adapted to detection of physiological parameters of different parts of human body to improve signal-to-noise ratio in the first place.

“To achieve the above object, the present invention discloses an elastic photoelectric sensor module. The elastic photoelectric sensor module is mainly applied to a monitoring device for physiological parameters such as human heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, blood pressure based on optical principle, and can provide stable and reliable original pulse wave signal. The sensor module includes a sensor structural part, an elastic telescopic unit, a sensor window group, and a photoelectric sensor. The sensor structural part mainly provides structural support for the elastic photoelectric sensor module, the elastic telescopic unit provides elastic force for the elastic photoelectric sensor module, the sensor window group is a signal path, and the photoelectric sensor is a basic signal detection unit.

“The elastic photoelectric sensor module in the present invention adopts materials such as metal and silica gel, and has the following features: 1. The module is simple to process and manufacture. 2. The module is sealed and has good insulation performance. 3. The module has high space utilization and is applicable to a miniaturized structure design.

“Further, the elastic force provided by the elastic telescopic unit in the elastic photoelectric sensor module of the present invention is adjustable, and a spring is used, elastic potential energy is calculated by using formula:

“.intg. x 0 - kxdx = 1 2 kx 2 , ##EQU00001##

“where k is elastic coefficient, and x is the deformation variable within the elastic limit of the spring. If a metal elastic piece is used, the elastic force is calculated by a formula:

“F = b * h 3 * e * .delta. 4 * l 3 , ##EQU00002##

“where b is the width of the elastic piece, h is the thickness of the elastic piece, e is elastic coefficient, .delta. is deformation quantity, and l is the length of the elastic piece. One advantage of the adjustable elastic force is that the sensor module can be in better contact with a detected tissue under proper pressure, and comfort is improved at the same time.

“Further, the sensor window group in the elastic photoelectric sensor module of the present invention is located directly above the elastic photoelectric sensor module, and the top of the sensor window is in contact with the human body. The sensor window group is formed by biocompatible glue such as silica gel to form a drop-shaped protrusion, to further ensure good contact.

“Beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: The present invention designs an elastic photoelectric sensor module, the module is simple to process and manufacture with good consistency, is sealed by glue during processing with good sealing performance and insulation performance, and has a small size, and is applicable to a miniaturized structure design. The telescopic unit is elastically adjustable, so that the photoelectric sensor is in close contact with the tissue under proper pressure, in which wearing comfort can be improved while ensuring signal quality. The module can be applied to use scenarios, in which the photoelectric sensor module is needed, such as long-time continuous monitoring of blood oxygenation saturation, heart rate and non-invasive continuous monitoring of blood pressure, and has a broad application prospect.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. An elastic photoelectric sensor module, comprising: a sensor structural part (1), an elastic telescopic unit (2), a sensor window group (3), and a photoelectric sensor (4); wherein the sensor structural part (1) provides structural support for the elastic photoelectric sensor module; the elastic telescopic unit (2) provides an elastic force for the elastic photoelectric sensor module; the sensor window group (3) is a signal path, and is located at the top of the elastic photoelectric sensor module, and the top of the sensor window group (3) is in contact with human body; the photoelectric sensor (4) is a basic signal detection unit, which is capable of transmitting and receiving the photoelectric signal, and is located below the sensor window group (3).

“2. The elastic photoelectric sensor module according to claim 1, wherein the material of the sensor structural part (1) comprises metal, plastic or silica gel to form a convex shaped structure or a triangular arrangement structure, and the sensor structural part (1) comprises a bottom structural part (1-1) and a movable top structural part (1-2) that are connected by a barb, and the top structural part (1-2) can be integrally retracted to the bottom structure (1-1) when being pressed by an external force.

“3. The elastic photoelectric sensor module according to claim 1, wherein the elastic telescopic unit (2) is made from elastic material or structure comprising a metal spring, a metal dome, or a silica gel.

“4. The elastic photoelectric sensor module according to claim 1, wherein the elastic telescopic unit (2) and the photoelectric sensor (4) form an integral structure, and the photoelectric sensor (4) comprises a first light emitting diode array (4-1) and a second light emitting diode array (4-2) that are geometrically symmetric, and a photoelectric receiving tube (4-3) located between the first light emitting diode array (4-1) and the second light emitting diode array (4-2).

“5. The elastic photoelectric sensor module according to claim 2, wherein the elastic telescopic unit (2) and the photoelectric sensor (4) form an integral structure, and the photoelectric sensor (4) comprises a first light emitting diode array (4-1) and a second light emitting diode array (4-2) that are geometrically symmetric, and a photoelectric receiving tube (4-3) located between the first light emitting diode array (4-1) and the second light emitting diode array (4-2).

“6. The elastic photoelectric sensor module according to claim 3, wherein the elastic telescopic unit (2) and the photoelectric sensor (4) form an integral structure, and the photoelectric sensor (4) comprises a first light emitting diode array (4-1) and a second light emitting diode array (4-2) that are geometrically symmetric, and a photoelectric receiving tube (4-3) located between the first light emitting diode array (4-1) and the second light emitting diode array (4-2).

“7. The elastic photoelectric sensor module according to claim 1, wherein the sensor window group (3) comprises any one or a combination of a light pipe, glass, a semi-permeable membrane and/or silica gel, and the sensor window group (3) is formed by biocompatible glue to form a drop-shaped protrusion; the sensor window group (3) comprises three sensor windows (3-1, 3-2, 3-3), wherein the first sensor window (3-1) and the second sensor window (3-2) are respectively located directly above the first light emitting diode array (4-1) and the second light emitting diode array (4-2), the third sensor window (3-3) is located directly above the photoelectric receiving tube (4-3).

“8. The elastic photoelectric sensor module according to claim 1, wherein the elastic photoelectric sensor module is filled with an insulating material to form a sealed and insulating cavity.

“9. The elastic photoelectric sensor module according to claim 2, wherein the elastic photoelectric sensor module is filled with an insulating material to form a sealed and insulating cavity.

“10. The elastic photoelectric sensor module according to claim 3, wherein the elastic photoelectric sensor module is filled with an insulating material to form a sealed and insulating cavity.

“11. The elastic photoelectric sensor module according to claim 7, wherein the elastic photoelectric sensor module is filled with an insulating material to form a sealed and insulating cavity.

“12. The elastic photoelectric sensor module according to claim 4, wherein the elastic photoelectric sensor module is filled with an insulating material to form a sealed, insulating cavity.

“13. The elastic photoelectric sensor module according to claim 5, wherein the elastic photoelectric sensor module is filled with an insulating material to form a sealed, insulating cavity.

“14. The elastic photoelectric sensor module according to claim 6, wherein the elastic photoelectric sensor module is filled with an insulating material to form a sealed, insulating cavity.”

For more information, see this patent application: Yuan, Haiquan; Zhou, Congcong. Elastic Photoelectric Sensor Module. Filed November 8, 2019 and posted May 14, 2020. Patent URL: http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220200146559%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20200146559&RS=DN/20200146559

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