IP Library Granted Patent US 11,039,791
Granted Patent B2
US 11,039,791 · App. 15/613,935 · Granted Jun 22, 2021

Local signal-to-noise peak detection

Inventor: Sean Kerman (Provo, UT)
Assignee: Owlet Baby Care, Inc.
A61B5/7203A61B5/02416A61B5/7221G16H10/60G16H30/20
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,039,791
App. No.
15/613,935
Filed
Jun 5, 2017
Granted
Jun 22, 2021
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2857
USPC
702/189
Abstract

Biometric sensor systems are provided for identifying fundamental heart rate harmonics within noisy sensor signals. The system calculates a local signal-to-noise ratio for one or more identified frequency bands received in a biometric signal. The identified frequency bands are ranked based upon the calculated local signal-to-noise ratio. The fundamental heart rate is identified based upon the ranking of the identified frequency bands.

Claims (37)

1. A computer system for identifying fundamental heart rate harmonics within noisy sensor signals, comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors configure the computer system to perform at least the following:

receive, at a sensor input interface, biometric signal data from a sensor in contact with a user;

extract, using a computer processor, a frequency-domain biometric signal from the biometric signal data;

identify a candidate frequency band within the frequency-domain biometric signal;

identify one or more harmonics associated with a candidate peak, wherein the one or more harmonics and the candidate peak are within the candidate frequency band;

generate a summed local signal value by summing an amplitude of the candidate peak with amplitudes of each of the one or more harmonics;

generate a summed local noise value by summing amplitudes associated with signals that occur between the one or more harmonics and dividing the summation of amplitudes by a number of bins utilized in the summation of amplitudes;

calculate a candidate figure of merit by dividing the summed local signal value by the summed local noise value;

identify a fundamental harmonic within the frequency-domain biometric signal based upon the candidate figure of merit; and

display a user's heart rate based upon the identified fundamental harmonic.

2. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the biometric signal data comprises a photoplethysmogram.

3. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the biometric sensor data comprises a photodetector.

4. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the executable instructions include instructions that are executable to configure the computer system to:

identify another frequency band within the frequency-domain biometric signal;

identify one or more other harmonics associated with the other frequency band;

generate another summed local signal value by summing an amplitude of the other frequency band with amplitudes of each of the one or more other harmonics;

generate another summed local noise value by summing amplitudes associated with signals that occur between the one or more other harmonics;

calculate another candidate figure of merit by dividing the other summed local signal value by the other summed local noise value;

rank the candidate peak and the other peak based upon their respective figure of merit values; and

identify the fundamental harmonic within the frequency-domain biometric signal by identifying a frequency band associated with the highest ranked figure of merit.

5. A method for identifying fundamental heart rate harmonics within a noisy photoplethysmogram, the method comprising:

receiving, at a sensor input interface, a noisy photoplethysmogram from a photodetector in contact with a user;

extracting, using a Fast-Fourier Transform, a frequency-domain biometric signal from the noisy photoplethysmogram;

identifying a first candidate frequency band within the frequency-domain biometric signal;

calculating a first candidate figure of merit by dividing a first summed local signal value by a first summed local noise value, wherein:

the first summed local signal value comprises a summation of an amplitude of a first candidate peak with amplitudes of each of one or more first harmonics of the first candidate frequency band, and

a first summed local noise value comprises a summation of amplitudes associated with signals that occur between the one or more first harmonics divided a number of bins utilized in the summation of amplitudes;

identifying a second candidate frequency band within the frequency-domain biometric signal;

calculating a second candidate figure of merit by dividing a second summed local signal value by a second summed local noise value, wherein:

the second summed local signal value comprises a summation of an amplitude of a second candidate peak within the second candidate frequency band with amplitudes of each of one or more second harmonics of the second candidate frequency band, and

a second summed local noise value comprises a summation of amplitudes associated with signals that occur between the one or more second harmonics;

ranking the first candidate frequency band and second candidate frequency band based upon the first candidate figure of merit and the second candidate figure of merit;

identifying a fundamental harmonic heartbeat associated with the user within the noisy photoplethysmogram based upon the ranking; and

displaying the user's heart rate based upon the fundamental harmonic heartbeat associated with the user.

6. The method as recited in claim 5 , wherein extracting the frequency-domain biometric signal from the noisy photoplethysmogram comprises generating the frequency-domain biometric signal within a plurality of bins.

Assignments (12)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 8, 2026
From: ABL OPCO LLC
To: OWLET, INC.; OWLET BABY CARE, INC.
Reel/Frame 075211/0186 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 30, 2026
From: OWLET BABY CARE, INC.; OWLET, INC.
To: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 075135/0224 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 29, 2026
From: WTI FUND X, INC.; WTI FUND XI, INC.
To: OWLET BABY CARE, INC.
Reel/Frame 075125/0708 →
MERGER Recorded Oct 13, 2025
From: OWLET BABY CARE INC.; PROJECT OLYMPUS MERGER SUB, INC.
To: OWLET BABY CARE, INC.
Reel/Frame 072553/0343 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE RECEIVING PARTY DATA PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL: 42600 FRAME: 915. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE ASSIGNMENT. Recorded Oct 13, 2025
From: KERMAN, SEAN
To: OWLET BABY CARE INC.
Reel/Frame 073088/0422 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 13, 2024
From: OWLET BABY CARE, INC.
To: WTI FUND X, INC.; WTI FUND XI, INC.
Reel/Frame 068585/0411 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Sep 13, 2024
From: FIRST-CITIZENS BANK & TRUST COMPANY
To: OWLET BABY CARE, INC.
Reel/Frame 068891/0611 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Sep 13, 2024
From: FIRST-CITIZENS BANK & TRUST COMPANY
To: OWLET BABY CARE, INC.
Reel/Frame 069134/0329 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 12, 2024
From: OWLET, INC.; OWLET BABY CARE, INC.
To: ABL OPCO LLC, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 068892/0739 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 28, 2022
From: OWLET BABY CARE, INC.
To: SILICON VALLEY BANK
Reel/Frame 061887/0898 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Apr 22, 2020
From: OWLET BABY CARE INC.
To: SILICON VALLEY BANK
Reel/Frame 052467/0216 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 5, 2017
From: KERMAN, SEAN
To: OWLET BABY CARE, INC.
Reel/Frame 042600/0915 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62348057 · Jun 9, 2016
Related Publication 20170354381A1 · Dec 14, 2017