Patent Issued for Smartphone case with separate computer hardware for recording private health-related data (USPTO 11722591): Mymee Inc.

2023 AUG 28 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Mymee Inc. (New York, New York, United States) has been issued patent number 11722591, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx editors.

The patent’s inventors are Beckman, Christopher V. (Los Angeles, CA, US), Dyhrberg, Mette (Brooklyn, NY, US).

This patent was filed on May 5, 2021 and was published online on August 8, 2023.

From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “Personal digital assistants (“PDAs”) are small portable computers that allow a user to record and manage personal information, and they have been available in some form for decades. For example, as early as the 1970s, small digital wristwatches allowed users to perform personal computing, such as financial arithmetic, and were capable of storing information related to personal contacts, such as names, addresses and phone numbers. The now virtually ubiquitous smartphones can be thought of as modern PDAs, capable of sophisticated, highly secure communications over a network and execution of some of the most complex computer programs.

“Today, specialized software products designed to be executed on smartphones is also widely available. Such software products, or “Apps”, allow users to provide and receive a wide variety of data and to perform numerous functions based on such data. Some examples of Apps include those that provide functionality relating to online banking, digital gaming, and personal health management. With respect to health management, many Apps are currently available to aid users in managing their food intake and/or other health-relevant behavior.

“With the rise of smartphones, a wide variety of protective cases have been developed. Many of these cases surround at least a significant portion of the smartphone. Some such cases also have aesthetic enhancements, such as decals and bright coloring.”

Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “New smartphone and electronics peripheral device cases, systems and methods of use are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, specialized hardware for acquiring personal health data is provided within a smartphone peripheral device case. In some such embodiments, such a peripheral device case may include squeezable sections configured to monitor pressure applied by a user at different times. In some embodiments, a peripheral device case may also be configured to determine and record a user’s grip strength according to the pressure received.

“In some embodiments, optical sensors may be provided to monitor and assess a user’s behavior, while extrapolating user statuses based on such behavior. For example, in some such embodiments, a new form of transparent pixel array may be provided over a screen of a smartphone held within the peripheral device case. In some embodiments, the transparent pixel array may record both visual data and user input related to the screen, while permitting normal actuation of the smartphone screen through the transparent pixel array.

“In some embodiments, data may be securely held and managed with separate computer hardware and software disposed within a peripheral device case. Such data may then be shared with a smartphone held within the case and/or with a network, subject to certain conditions, in some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the computer hardware and software may request and receive user consent before sharing the securely held data.

“As mentioned above, the disclosed embodiments may include methods and systems. In some embodiments, such systems include computer hardware and software, including non-transitory machine-readable media with executable instructions. When executed by computer hardware, the instructions may cause the systems to carry out any or all of the methods set forth in this application.

“The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter of this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A smartphone case peripheral device comprising: a housing comprising: at least one exterior surface(s); and a smartphone-receiving section configured to receive a smartphone therein; at least one pressure sensor(s) located on or about said housing, the at least one pressure sensor(s) configured to: sense pressure applied in an inward direction, toward an interior part of said housing, and on or about said at least one pressure sensor(s) caused by a human hand; and monitor an amount and/or a rate of said inward pressure; at least one member(s), configured to move relative to the housing, operatively connected to the at least one pressure sensor(s), wherein the at least one pressure sensor(s) is/are configured to sense pressure based on movement of the at least one member(s); a communications device configured to provide a communications connection between the smartphone case peripheral device and a smartphone held by the smartphone-receiving section; and specialized computer hardware and software in communication with the at least one pressure sensor(s) and the communications device.

“2. A smartphone case peripheral device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one member(s) are at least partially exposed and extending from the housing.

“3. A smartphone case peripheral device according to claim 2, wherein the at least one member(s) comprises at least one shock-absorbing bumper(s).

“4. A smartphone case peripheral device according to claim 2, wherein the at least one member(s) comprises at least one compressible hand grip(s).

“5. A smartphone case peripheral device according to claim 4, wherein the at least one member(s) comprises at least one shock-absorbing bumper(s).

“6. A smartphone case peripheral device according to claim 5, wherein: the at least one shock-absorbing bumper(s) extends a first distance outward from at least one of the at least one exterior surface(s); the at least one compressible hand grip(s) extends a second distance outward from the at least one of the at least one exterior surface(s); and the first distance is greater than the second distance.

“7. A smartphone case peripheral device according to claim 2, further comprising: at least one force transmission strut(s) operatively connected to the at least one member(s), wherein the at least one member(s) is configured to drive the at least one force transmission strut(s).

“8. A smartphone case peripheral device according to claim 7, wherein at least one of the at least one force transmission strut(s) is configured to drive at least one shock absorber(s).

“9. A smartphone case peripheral device according to claim 2, wherein the specialized computer hardware and software is configured to apply an outward-directed force to at least one of the at least one member(s).

“10. A smartphone case peripheral device according to claim 1, wherein the specialized computer hardware and software is configured to transmit a reminder to a user to perform a periodic handgrip strength test.

“11. A smartphone case peripheral device according to claim 10, wherein the specialized computer hardware and software is configured to transmit the reminder via a specialized feedback pattern that is used exclusively to identify the reminder to a user.

“12. A peripheral device for a smartphone comprising: an outer housing; specialized computer hardware and software configured to monitor behavior of a user of a smartphone, the specialized computer hardware comprising at least one smartphone actuation sensor(s) comprised in a flat, at least partially transparent auxiliary touchscreen, overlaid onto a touchscreen of the smartphone; and a communications connection device configured to provide a communications connection between the peripheral device and the smartphone, wherein said specialized computer hardware and software and said at least one smartphone actuation sensor are each configured to monitor and record data related to touch actuation of said smartphone, and wherein said specialized computer hardware is configured to classify at least some of said data as private or non-private, and to treat said data classified as private or non-private differently.

“13. A peripheral device for a smartphone according to claim 12, wherein the at least partially transparent auxiliary touchscreen comprises a matrix of actuators.

“14. A peripheral device for a smartphone according to claim 13, wherein the at least partially transparent auxiliary touchscreen comprises a touch transmission medium configured to permit a user to actuate said touchscreen of the smartphone through said at least partially transparent auxiliary touchscreen.

“15. A peripheral device for a smartphone according to claim 14, wherein the matrix of actuators is configured to modify touch actuation of said touchscreen of said smartphone.

“16. A peripheral device for a smartphone according to claim 12, wherein the at least partially transparent auxiliary touchscreen is configured to add dynamic visual augmentations to the touchscreen of the smartphone.

“17. A peripheral device for a smartphone according to claim 16, wherein said visual augmentations comprise graphical user interface (“GUI”) elements.

“18. A peripheral device for a smartphone according to claim 17, wherein said GUI elements comprise instructions for a user performing a manual strength, agility and/or dexterity test.

“19. A peripheral device for a smartphone according to claim 18, wherein said GUI elements comprise a measure of manual strength, agility and/or dexterity of a user.

“20. A peripheral device for a smartphone according to claim 19, wherein said measure comprises a peak reading.”

For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Beckman, Christopher V. Smartphone case with separate computer hardware for recording private health-related data. U.S. Patent Number 11722591, filed May 5, 2021, and published online on August 8, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11722591)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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