IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,617,537
Granted Patent B2
US 11,617,537 · App. 15/002,136 · Granted Apr 4, 2023

Fabric-based pressure sensor arrays including intersecting elongated conductive strips on opposite sides of a textile sheet

Inventors: Majid Sarrafzadeh (Anaheim Hills, CA); Wenyao Xu (Los Angeles, CA); Ming-Chun Huang (Culver City, CA); Nitin Raut (Sunnyvale, CA); Behrooz Yadegar (Los Altos, CA)
Assignees: The Regent of the University of California; Medisens Wireless, Inc.
A61B5/6804A61B5/1116A61B5/4561A61B5/7278G01L1/18G01L1/205A61B5/4806A61B2562/0247A61B2562/046
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,617,537
App. No.
15/002,136
Granted
Apr 4, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

A fabric-based pressure sensor array includes: (1) a first layer including M elongated conductive strips coated thereon; (2) a second layer including N elongated conductive strips coated thereon, the M elongated conductive strips extending crosswise relative to the N elongated conductive strips to define M×N intersections; and (3) a unitary textile sheet extending between the first layer and the second layer so as to overlap the M×N intersections, the textile sheet having a variable resistivity in response to applied pressure so as to define M×N pressure sensors at locations corresponding to the M×N intersections.

Claims (18)

1. A fabric-based pressure sensor array, comprising:

a continuous textile sheet having a first surface, a second surface opposite to the first surface, fibers coated with an electrically conductive material and disposed between the first surface and the second surface;

M elongated conductive strips directly coated on the first surface; and

N elongated conductive strips directly coated on the second surface,

wherein the M elongated conductive strips extend crosswise relative to the N elongated conductive strips to define M×N intersections, wherein the continuous textile sheet has an offset resistivity corresponding to an initial offset pressure, and a variable resistivity in response to applied pressure so as to define M×N pressure sensors at locations corresponding to the M×N intersections, and the M elongated conductive strips and N elongated conductive strips are different from the fibers coated with the electrically conductive material, and

wherein the sensor array is configured to detect a first pressure map corresponding to a first position of a body applying pressure to the continuous textile sheet, detect a second pressure map corresponding to a second position of the body applying pressure to the continuous textile sheet, and identify the second position of the body as being an identified one of a set of body positions based on output of a model using machine learning and receiving the first and second pressure maps as input.

2. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the fibers are coated with an electrically conductive polymer.

3. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the sensor array is configured to detect pressure applied at the M×N pressure sensors by an object positioned on the continuous textile sheet.

4. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the fibers are woven to form the continuous textile sheet.

5. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , wherein each of the M elongated conductive strips and the N elongated conductive strips includes an electrically conductive polymer.

6. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , wherein each of the M elongated conductive strips and the N elongated conductive strips includes a polymer and electrically conductive additives dispersed in the polymer.

7. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , wherein each of the M elongated conductive strips and the N elongated conductive strips includes a metal or a metal alloy.

8. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , wherein M is greater than 1, Nis greater than 1, and M is the same as N.

9. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , wherein M is greater than 1, Nis greater than 1, and M is different from N.

10. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the fabric-based pressure sensor array has a thickness in a range of 0.1 mm to 1 mm.

11. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the M×N pressure sensors are connected to a data sampling unit.

12. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the set of body positions includes a situp position, a forward position, a backward position, a left lean position, a right lean position, a right foot over left position, and a left foot over right position.

13. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first and second positions of the body corresponds to a sleeping position.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 29, 2021
From: MEDISENS WIRELESS, INC.
To: ABENA HOLDING A/S
Reel/Frame 058500/0201 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 21, 2016
From: SARRAFZADEH, MAJID; XU, WENYAO; HUANG, MING-CHUN
To: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Reel/Frame 037545/0789 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 21, 2016
From: RAUT, NITIN; YADEGAR, BEHROOZ
To: MEDISENS WIRELESS, INC.
Reel/Frame 037545/0906 →
Continuity (3)
Continuation 13475654 · May 18, 2012
Provisional Application 61488653 · May 20, 2011
Related Publication 20160135744A1 · May 19, 2016
Cited By (1)
US 12,216,017