Patent ID: 11899838
Assignee: PLEXUS IMMERSIVE CORP
Field: Computer technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 0:
1. A wearable device for measuring one or more joint angles of a body of a user comprising:
a flexible, elastic substrate, the substrate attachable to the body;
a plurality of stretchable conductive loops attached to the substrate, a first group of the plurality of conductive loops positioned over distal interphalangeal joints when the substrate is worn on the body, a second group of the plurality of the conductive loops positioned over proximal interphalangeal joints when the substrate is worn on the body, and a third group of the plurality of conductive loops positioned on top of the metacarpal phalangeal joints, each of the plurality of conductive loops comprising a pattern of conductive material configured to stretch and increase inductance when the joint flexes and contract and decrease inductance when the joint extends;
a plurality of permanent magnets in proximity to a fourth group of the plurality of conductive loops, wherein the fourth group conductive loops each wrap around a permanent magnet;
current driving circuitry attached to the fourth group of the conductive loops and configured to generate a current in the fourth group of conductive loops and generate a force on the magnets;
another group of conductive loops attached to the substrate, wherein the another group of conductive loops are positioned on the substrate such that when a thumb carpal metacarpal joint flexes the another group of conductive loops change inductance due to the twisting and bending motion imparted to the substrate between the thumb and a back of a hand of the body;
a plurality of inductance measurement circuits attached to the plurality of conductive loops by conductive wires within or upon the substrate, the inductance measurement circuits configured to measure inductance in the corresponding conductive loops, wherein each of the plurality of inductance measurement circuits comprise a frequency counter; and
a processor attached to the inductance measuring circuits, the processor configured to receive inductance values from the inductance measuring circuits and compute a plurality of joint angles based on the inductance values, the processor being connected to each frequency counter of the plurality of inductance measurement circuits.