Abstract:
A biometric sensor assembly measures biometric data of a wearer of a hardhat. The biometric sensor assembly includes a suspension harness to be removably secured to the hardhat. A biometric sensor is attached to the suspension harness in a way that allows direct or indirect contact with the wearer to enable measurement of the biometric data. The biometric sensor assembly also includes an electrical connection of the biometric sensor and the hardhat for data and power transmission.

Description:
This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/150,384, filed May 9, 2016, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/883,157, filed Oct. 14, 2015, which is a divisional of U.S. Pat. No. 9,177,458, which is a divisional of U.S. Pat. No. 9,013,297, which was filed on Oct. 17, 2014. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND ART 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates generally to the field of wearable devices. More particularly, the invention relates to wearable devices having sensors, including biometric sensors, attached thereto. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Helmets and other protectable wearables are often required when working in areas where there is a potential for injury. Helmets are especially required to protect the head from hazards such as impact from falling objects, scraping or bumping one&#39;s head on equipment, or contact with electrical conductors. Traditional suspension bands have been designed to extend inside the helmet and be used for spreading the helmet&#39;s weight and the force of any impact over the top of a user&#39;s head. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A biometric sensor assembly measures biometric data of a wearer of a hardhat. The biometric sensor assembly includes a suspension harness to be removably secured to the hardhat. A biometric sensor is attached to the suspension harness in a way that allows direct or indirect contact with the wearer to enable measurement of the biometric data. The biometric sensor assembly also includes an electrical connection of the biometric sensor and the hardhat for data and power transmission. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective bottom view of the hard hat with electronics incorporated including the suspension band; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective side view of the suspension band; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the suspension band with sensors and a sweat band incorporated therein; and 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a hard hat, generally shown at  10 , including an outer shell  12  and an adjustable suspension band assembly, generally indicated at  14 . The suspension band assembly  14  extends around the interior  16  of the hard hat  10 . The adjustable suspension band assembly  14  allows the user to adjustingly secure the outer shell  12  to the user&#39;s and to absorb energy from impacts and collisions via a connecting clip structure  27  that connects the suspension band assembly  14  with the outer shell  12  of the hard hat  10 . 
     The adjustable suspension band  14  includes an adjusting device  20  that adjusts the diameter of a primary support loop  22 . The suspension band including its electrical connection are described in greater detail in a U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/150,384, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     The hard hat  10  in  FIG. 1  further includes a control unit  18  that may include electronic components and computing power to potentially enable electronic data processing capability locally within the hard hat  10 . Also, the hard hat  10  may include a set of speakers  42  including corresponding volume buttons  44  to potentially enable audio communication within the hard hat  10  and a microphone (not shown) to capture audible signals/voices that are near the hard hat  10 . In addition, the hard hat  10  could also include a light indicator  50  to provide visual feedback to the wearer. 
     The primary support loop  22  of the suspension band assembly  14  includes an electronic peripheral, which can take the form of a biometric sensors assembly  24  described in this patent in more detail later in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the suspension band assembly  14  includes two attachment straps  26  that extend diametrically over the primary support loop  22  in a manner that provides enough slack to allow the head of the user to comfortably extend through the primary support loop  22 . In some instances, the two attachment straps  26  may be adjustable to allow the user to have the two attachment straps  26  rest on the top of his or her head, providing more support and comfort. 
     An electrical anchor contact  28  is fixedly secured to the attachment strap  26  and provides an electrical connection between the hard hat  10  and the electronic peripheral as illustrated by the biometric sensors assembly  24  on the primary support loop  22 . There may be more than one electrical anchor contact  28 . Extending up from the electrical anchor contact  28  through the attachment strap  26  is an electrical conductor  30 . The electrical conductor  30  completes the circuit between the biometric sensors assembly  24  in the primary support loop  22  and the control unit  18  that is attached to the outer shell  12  of the hard hat  10  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ). 
     In  FIG. 3 , the setup of the biometric sensors assembly  24  is illustrated in more detail. As shown, the biometric sensors  32  are directly incorporated in the suspension band assembly  14 . The biometric sensors  32  are electrically connected through the same electrical conductor  30  that connects the biometric sensors assembly  24  through the electrical anchor contact  28  with the control unit  18 . This electrical connection ensures data and power transmission from the biometric sensors assembly  24  to the central control unit  18  and vice versa. The data connection will allow for processing the sensor data at the control unit  18 . 
     The biometric sensors  32  can include any form of biometric sensor, such as for example, an optical heart rate monitor or a body temperature sensor. The suspension band assembly  14  might also include a haptic motor  48  to potentially provide haptic feedback to the wearer. The biometric sensors  32  and the haptic the motor  48  are usually covered by a cover or sweat band  34  that is placed over the suspension band assembly  14  and that encapsulates both the biometric sensors  32  and the haptic motor  48 . The cover or sweat band  34  is forming the interface between the wearer&#39;s forehead and the biometric sensors  32  and/or the haptic motor  48 . The cover or sweat band  34  should contain holes  36  at certain locations to allow the sensors to produce accurate sensor readings from the wearer&#39;s forehead. The cover or sweat band  34  is removable for cleaning purposes. 
     An alternative to directly incorporating the biometric sensors  32  into the suspension band assembly  14  and then using a cover or sweat band  34  to protect the sensors would be to include the biometric sensors  32  directly into an integrative band  46 , is illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The integrative band  46  represents one assembly unit that combines a conductive pad  40  and a sweat band  34 . The biometric sensors  32  and potentially a haptic motor  48  for providing haptic feedback to the wearer are placed on the conductive pad  40 , thereby ensuring that the biometric sensors  32  and haptic motor  48  are positioned correctly and are connected to the electronic circuitry of the hard hat  10 . 
     The conductive pad  40  is connected directly with the control unit  18  through a physical connector  29  that might use a plug and play connection mechanism. The physical connector  29  will identify which biometric sensors  32  are on the suspension band assembly  14  and send that information directly to the control unit  18 . The physical connector  29  ensures data and power transmission from the biometric sensors  32  and the haptic motor  48  to the central control unit  18  and vice versa. The flow of data will then enable processing of the sensor data. 
     The sweat band  34  is designed to fully enclose the biometric sensors  32  and the haptic motor  48 . The sweat band  34  also contains holes  36  at certain locations to allow for the biometric sensors  32  to produce accurate sensor readings from the wearer&#39;s forehead. 
     The fully assembled integrative band  46  is attached to the suspension band assembly  14  in the same way as the cover or sweat band  34  in  FIG. 3  by placing the integrative band  46  over the suspension band assembly  14 . 
     With setup described in either  FIG. 3  or  FIG. 4 , the biometric sensor assembly  24  is built in a way that it can provide for a warning mechanism that alerts the wearer via a certain notification system. For example, in case the central control unit  18  processes the data of the biometric sensors  32  and identifies that the measured biometric data of the wearer deviates significantly from a previously defined threshold, an audio message could be played to the wearer through the speaker set  42  (as illustrated in  FIG. 1 ). The wearer will therefore immediately receive a respective warning if one of his or her biometrics shows a significant deviation. An alternative to an audio signal could be that the warning signal is being visualized to the wearer through a signaling light indicator  50  that is included in the hard hat  10 , or that the wearer receives haptic feedback through a haptic motor  48  that is attached to the suspension band assembly  14 . 
     The invention has been described in an illustrative manner. It is to be understood that the terminology, which has been used, is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. 
     Many modifications and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. Therefore, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described.