Abstract:
An intelligent wearable outfit, and an external information platform and a computer program product which are in conjunction with the intelligent wearable outfit, provide various functional modules for measuring physiological signals in a modular design. An appropriate functional module (or even more than one functional module if desired) may be selected therefrom and arranged in the wearable outfit to extend and change functions of the wearable outfit, making the intelligent wearable outfit suitable for most users who can manage personal health appropriately.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the priority of Republic of China Patent Application No. 104143125 filed on Dec. 22, 2015, in the State Intellectual Property Office of the R.O.C., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The invention relates to a device for acquiring human physiological signals, and more particularly, to an intelligent wearable outfit capable of extending or changing physiological signal measuring functions, and an external information platform and a computer program product which are in conjunction with the intelligent wearable outfit. 
         [0004]    Descriptions of the Related Art 
         [0005]    An idea of making a portable or wearable electronic device, that is a concept of wearable device, has already been proposed for the sake of providing more convenience in human life. Such a wearable device is not considered successful yet in terms of meeting living requirements because of immature technology. Due to improvements in technology, medical care quality and network communication, development of a wearable outfit for a user to do personal health management tends to be combined with high technology and networks. However, this wearable outfit for personal health management cannot extend the functions thereof after it is made, and does not have intelligent and Internet functions thereby not suitable for every user. In other words, the functions of the existing wearable outfit are fixed and cannot be changed or extended in response to user&#39;s needs, and the existing wearable outfit cannot perform interconnected communication. 
         [0006]    In view of the above, the problem to be solved promptly in the art is to provide a wearable outfit, which allows functions thereof to be changed and extended according to user&#39;s requirements. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    In view of various problems of prior arts mentioned above, a primary object of the invention is to provide an intelligent wearable outfit and an external information platform and a computer program product which are in conjunction with the intelligent wearable outfit, wherein the intelligent wearable outfit is provided with various functional modules for a user to select a desirable one therefrom, such that functions of the intelligent wearable outfit can be expanded and changed. 
         [0008]    Another object of the invention is to provide an intelligent wearable outfit and an external information platform and a computer program product which are in conjunction with the intelligent wearable outfit, wherein functional modules are embedded in functional parts of the intelligent wearable outfit such that the functional modules can be flexibly arranged and a desirable appearance of the intelligent wearable outfit can be achieved. 
         [0009]    To achieve the above and other objects, an intelligent wearable outfit is provided in the invention, which includes an outfit body, a first functional part, at least one Nth functional part and a basic functional part. The outfit body includes a transducer, a set of wires and a plurality of assembly parts, wherein the assembly parts are dispersed in the outfit body and are connected to each other by the set of wires. 
         [0010]    The assembly parts are respectively mounted to one of the first functional part, the Nth functional part and the basic functional part in a detachable manner. The first functional part has a first expandable functional module, wherein the first expandable functional module includes a first functional chip and a first repeater. The Nth functional part has an Nth expandable functional module, wherein the Nth expandable functional module includes an Nth functional chip and an Nth repeater, wherein N is an integral equal to or larger than two. The basic functional part has a basic functional module, wherein the basic functional module includes a basic repeater, a power supply, a basic functional chip and a wireless transceiver. The basic, first and Nth repeaters are electrically connected to each other by the set of wires, so as to allow electrical connection between the basic, first and Nth functional chips, allow the power supply to provide power for operation of the first and Nth functional chips, and allow the transducer to measure physiological signals. The physiological signals measured by the transducer are transferred to the basic functional chip and sent out by the wireless transceiver. 
         [0011]    Preferably, the first or Nth functional chip is selected from the group consisting of physiological signal sensor chip, microphone control chip, speaker control chip, global positioning system chip, camera control chip, temperature sensor chip, inertia sensor chip, environment sensor chip and memory chip. The first and Nth expandable functional modules are connected to each other by the set of wires to form a group for functional expansion of the basic functional module and form an interconnected communication network configuration. 
         [0012]    Preferably, the first, Nth and basic functional parts respectively have a carrier and a lid. The carriers of the functional parts are for carrying the first and Nth expandable functional modules and the basic functional module respectively. The lids of the functional parts cover the corresponding carriers for protecting the functional modules carried by the carriers. The set of wires pass through the carriers and are electrically connected to the functional modules carried by the carriers. The carriers further have assembly structures respectively for being mounted to the assembly parts. The lids are formed with exposed features and are provided with switch, indicator, camera, antenna, speaker and/or microphone, which is electrically connected to the functional modules carried by the carriers. 
         [0013]    The invention further provides an external information platform in conjunction with the intelligent wearable outfit. The external information platform includes a control module and a wireless transceiving module. The control module is for controlling the wireless transceiving module to allow the wireless transceiving module to communicate with the wearable outfit. The wireless transceiving module is for receiving the physiological signals sent from the wireless transceiver or for feeding back control signals to the first and Nth expandable functional modules and the basic functional module. 
         [0014]    Preferably, the external information platform further includes a storage module, a processing module and an abnormality indicating module. The storage module is for storing the physiological signals received by the wireless transceiving module and storing the control signals being fed back to the first and Nth expandable functional modules and the basic functional module. The processing module is for analyzing the physiological signals received by the wireless transceiving module to see if the physiological signals are abnormal, and/or for retrieving and classifying characteristics of the physiological signals. The abnormality indicating module is for sending out an abnormality indication if the physiological signals are analyzed to be abnormal by the processing module. 
         [0015]    Preferably, the wireless transceiving module is further for receiving operating statuses of the first and Nth expandable functional modules and/or the basic functional module. The processing module is further for analyzing if the first and Nth expandable functional modules and/or the basic functional module operate abnormally according to the operating statuses received by the wireless transceiving module. The control module is further for controlling operation of the first and Nth expandable functional modules and/or the basic functional module to form an interconnected communication network configuration. 
         [0016]    The invention further provides a computer program product with a built-in control program, wherein when the computer program product loads and executes the control program, operation of the above external information platform is completed. 
         [0017]    The invention further provides an intelligent wearable outfit including: an outfit body including a transducer and a set of wires; a first expandable functional module; at least one Nth expandable functional module, wherein N is an integral equal to or larger than two; and a basic functional module. The first and Nth expandable functional modules and the basic functional module are detachably mounted to the outfit body. The first and Nth expandable functional modules are electrically connected to each other by the set of wires to form an expandable functional module group, allowing the transducer to measure physiological signals. The expandable functional module group is further electrically connected to the basic functional module by the set of wires so as to allow the basic functional module, first expandable functional module and Nth expandable functional module to be electrically interconnected to form an interconnected communication network configuration, such that the physiological signals measured by the transducer can be transferred to the basic functional module by the set of wires. 
         [0018]    In comparison to prior arts, the intelligent wearable outfit of the invention provides various functional modules which can be selectively and flexibly arranged and are formed with a miniaturization configuration. The functional modules are respectively embedded in corresponding functional parts. Appropriate functional parts may be selected therefrom for use in the outfit body according to user&#39;s needs to extend functions of the intelligent wearable outfit, making the intelligent wearable outfit of the invention suitable for most users. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]    The above and other aspects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0020]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view showing an embodiment of an intelligent wearable outfit of the invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 2  is a schematic view showing the relationship between various functional modules of the intelligent wearable outfit of the invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 3  is a schematic view showing the relationship between various functional modules of the intelligent wearable outfit of the invention and an external information platform. 
           [0023]      FIG. 4  is a structure diagram showing a functional part according to an embodiment of the intelligent wearable outfit of the invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 5  is a configuration diagram showing an expandable functional module of the invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 6-1  is a structure diagram showing the functional part of the invention. 
           [0026]      FIG. 6-2  is another structure diagram showing the functional part of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0027]    Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the shapes and dimensions of elements may be exaggerated for clarity, and the same reference numerals will be used throughout to designate the same or like components. 
         [0028]    The invention provides an intelligent wearable outfit, which comprises various expandable functional modules for measuring physiological signals. A user may desirably select at least one of the expandable functional modules to be in use with the intelligent wearable outfit. This allows the intelligent wearable outfit to change and extend its functions according to user&#39;s needs. The intelligent wearable outfit can be a portable accessory such as shoe, bag, belt and/or scarf, or clothes such as skirt and/or shirt (with or without sleeves), or any kind of clothing. This wearable outfit has a flexible form and appearance for the user to choose to fit his/her living according to different occasions and weather. It should be understood that, the intelligent wearable outfit of the invention is illustrated below, but not limited to, an embodiment of a shirt. 
         [0029]    The embodiments of the invention are described with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 6 . 
         [0030]    In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the intelligent wearable outfit is formed with a plurality of assembly parts, which are dispersed (or disposed in different positions) and exposed. The assembly parts may be connected to various functional parts having functional modules, such that physiological signal sensing and health management functions provided by the intelligent wearable outfit can be extended and changed. The assembly parts may also be connected to an accessory to desirably modify the appearance of the intelligent wearable outfit according to user&#39;s requirements. 
         [0031]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the intelligent wearable outfit of the invention includes an outfit body  1  having a transducer  11 , a set of wires  12 , and a plurality of assembly parts  13 , wherein the assembly parts  13  are separately disposed. The transducer  11  and the wires  12  may be mounted by sewing in the outfit body  1 . The transducer  11  is used to measure physiological signals in a human body. The transducer uses a recognizing element to sense physiological signals from a living sample, and can be, but is not limited to, an electrode. The transducer can be a sensor, which obtains physiological signals in relation to energy conversion of such as light, electricity, dynamics, magnetism, heat, fluidity, inertia or sound. The physiological signals include, but are not limited to, electrocardiography (ECG) signals, electromyography (EMG) signals, temperature sensing signals, humidity sensing signals, breath sensing signals and inertia sensing signals. In the invention, the design of the transducer  11  may be modified according to the physiological signals to be measured. The number and position of the transducer  11  are also flexible in the outfit body  1 . The wires  12  can be fiber wires covered with water resistant material, such that the intelligent wearable outfit is washable for the sake of hygiene. 
         [0032]    The intelligent wearable outfit of the invention further includes a plurality of functional parts detachably mounted to at least one of the assembly parts  13 . Particularly, the functional parts may be attached to the assembly parts  13  and may also be detached therefrom. The intelligent wearable outfit further includes at least a basic functional module and at least an expandable functional module, which are disposed or embedded in the functional parts. More description thereof is as follows. 
         [0033]      FIG. 2  schematically shows the relationship between a basic functional module and expandable functional modules. It should be understood that,  FIG. 2  merely illustrates one type connection between the basic functional module and the expandable functional modules. The invention may also be implemented by increasing input/output ports of repeaters to connect the basic functional module and the expandable functional modules in a tree network manner to form a functional group. 
         [0034]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the intelligent wearable outfit of the invention includes a first functional part  40 - 1 , an Nth functional part  40 - 2 , and a basic functional part  40 - 3 , wherein N is an integral equal to or larger than two. The first, Nth and basic functional parts  40 - 1 ,  40 - 2 ,  40 - 3  are correspondingly provided with a first expandable functional module  21 , an Nth expandable functional module  22  and a basic functional module  20 . The basic functional module  20  includes a power supply  200 , a basic repeater  201 , a basic functional chip  202  and a wireless transceiver  203 . The first expandable functional module  21  includes a first functional chip  210  and a first repeater  211 . The Nth expandable functional module  22  includes an Nth functional chip  220  and an Nth repeater  221 . In  FIG. 2 , the basic functional module  20 , the first expandable functional module  21  and the Nth expandable functional module  22  have the respective basic, first and Nth repeaters  201 ,  211 ,  221  thereof electrically interconnected by the set of wires  12 , such that the basic, first and Nth functional chips  202 ,  210 ,  220  can be electrically coupled to each other. This allows the first and Nth expandable functional modules  21 ,  22  to form an expandable functional group, which serves as a functional extension for the basic functional module  20 , and achieves Internet communication between the functional modules, particularly Internet of things (IOT) communication. More specifically, the functional modules  20 ,  21 ,  22  may communicate with each other by means of an interconnected communication network configuration so as to allow various functional modules to share information. 
         [0035]    Moreover, the power supply  200  may supply power to the first and Nth expandable functional modules  21 ,  22  by means of the set of wires  12  through the basic, first and Nth repeaters  201 ,  211 ,  221 , in order to make the first and Nth expandable functional modules  21 ,  22  operate properly. Therefore, the transducer  11  of the intelligent wearable outfit may measure physiological signals, and the measured physiological signals can be transferred to the basic functional chip  202  by the set of wires  12 , for further processing. The basic functional chip  202  may send the physiological signals out through the wireless transceiver  203 , or receive control signals from an external information platform so as to control the first and Nth expandable functional modules  21 ,  22  and provide the IOT function. The first and Nth functional chips  210 ,  220  are respectively selected from a group consisting of physiological signal sensor chip, microphone control chip, speaker control chip, global positioning system (GPS) chip, camera control chip, temperature sensor chip, inertia sensor chip, environment sensor chip and memory chip. 
         [0036]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the above basic functional chip  202  sends the physiological signals out to an external information platform  30  via the wireless transceiver  203 . The external information platform  30  may be provided in a computer program product with a built-in control program. The computer program product can be, for example, smart phone, personal computer or personal digital assistant device. When the computer program product loads and executes the control program, it may retrieve the information received by all the functional modules of the intelligent wearable outfit, and may alternatively control all the functional modules and provide IOT information thereto. Moreover, the external information platform  30  may process (such as analyze, record, etc.) the retrieved information, so as to perform personal heath management for the user. 
         [0037]    Particularly, the external information platform  30  includes a wireless transceiving module  300 , a control module  301 , a storage module  302 , a processing module  303  and an abnormality indicating module  304 . The control module  301  controls the wireless transceiving module  300  in a manner that the wireless transceiving module  300  may communicate with the intelligent wearable outfit and receive the physiological signals sent from the wireless transceiver  203  or feed back control signals via the wireless transceiver  203  to the first and Nth expandable functional modules  21 ,  22  and the basic functional module  20 . The storage module  302  may store the physiological signals received by the wireless transceiving module  300  and the control signals being fed back to the first and Nth expandable functional modules  21 ,  22  and the basic functional module  20 . The processing module  303  may retrieve and classify characteristics of the physiological signals, and may analyze the physiological signals received by the wireless transceiving module  300  to see if the signals are abnormal. When the physiological signals are analyzed to be abnormal, the processing module  303  allows the abnormality indicating module  304  to send out an abnormality indication. The processing module  303  may also transfer the analyzed results of the physiological signals to the cloud and/or a medical institute through a communication device such as smart phone, personal computer or personal digital assistant device. 
         [0038]    Moreover, the wireless transceiving module  300  of the external information platform  30  may receive operating statuses of the basic functional module  20  and the first and Nth expandable functional modules  21 ,  22 . Besides retrieving and classifying characteristics of the physiological signals, the processing module  303  may also analyze if the basic functional module  20  and the first and Nth expandable functional modules  21 ,  22  operate abnormally, and allow the abnormality indicating module  304  to send out an abnormality indication when the functional modules  20 ,  21 ,  22  are analyzed to be operating abnormally. 
         [0039]    It should be noted, various functional modules of the invention (the basic functional module and the first and Nth expandable functional modules) of the invention are formed with a miniaturization configuration in the functional parts. The functional parts have flexible structures and the corresponding modules are not limited to those certain functions. Generally, a single functional part is for implementing a single function (expandable function or basic function). Alternatively, a plurality of functional modules can be integrated in a chip and thus one functional part may perform multiple functions. 
         [0040]    Structure of the functional part of the invention is described as follows with reference to  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the functional part  40  may be formed as a button. It includes a carrier  400 , a functional module  401  and a lid  402 . The carrier  400  is used to carry the functional module  401 . The set of wires disposed on the intelligent wearable outfit pass through the carrier  400  and are electrically connected to the functional module  401 . The carrier  400  is further provided with an assembly structure and can be detachably mounted to the assembly part of the intelligent wearable outfit. This makes the functional part  40  more flexibly attached to the intelligent wearable outfit, thereby allowing the intelligent wearable outfit to have functional expansion or modification desirably. The lid  402  covers the carrier  400  to protect the functional module  401  carried on the carrier  400 . The functional module  401  is the basic functional module or expandable functional module described above. 
         [0041]      FIG. 5  is a configuration diagram of the above functional module  401 . The functional module  401  primarily includes two portions: a functional chip  4011  and a repeater  4012 . The functional chip  4011  is a chip for providing basic control functions and various application functions, and may also be a sensor chip. For example, it can be physiological signal sensor chip, microphone control chip, speaker control chip, GPS chip, camera control chip, temperature sensor chip, inertia sensor chip, memory chip, IOT control chip, power supply chip, wireless transceiver chip, or integration chip integrated with multiple functions described above. The repeater  4012  is connected to the functional chip  4011 , for transmitting electricity, control signals and information. Particularly, the repeater  4012  may transmit electricity, control signals and information required for the operation of the functional chip  4011 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the repeater  4012  inputs and/or outputs the electricity, control signals and information via input/output ports  40121 ,  40122 ,  40123 ,  40124  thereof. The repeater  4012  may be coupled to other chip modules so as to expand and transmit Internet information and establish an interconnected communication network configuration. The repeater  4012  has a flexible number of the input/output ports, which may be increased or decreased according to Internet or functional requirements. 
         [0042]      FIG. 6-1  and  FIG. 6-2  are structure diagrams of the functional part of the invention. Area I of  FIG. 6-1  shows a state of the functional part  40  being attached to the outfit body  1 . Area II of  FIG. 6-1  shows a state of the functional part  40  being detached from the outfit body  1 , wherein the outfit body  1  is provided with the assembly part  13  thereon for attaching the functional part  40 , and a mounting plate  14  for mounting the assembly part  13  to the outfit body  1 . Preferably, the assembly part  13  is made of an elastic material and can be flexibly shaped, so as to allow easy attachment and detachment between the functional part  40  and the assembly part  13 . This means that the functional part  40  is detachably mounted to the assembly part  13 . 
         [0043]    Area III of  FIG. 6-1  shows that, the set of wires  12  extend through the mounting plate  14  towards the functional part  40  and also through the carrier  400  to be electrically connected to the functional module  401 , so as to transmit electricity, control signals, information and Internet information required for the functional module  401 . The functional module  401  can be electrically coupled to the set of wires  12  by using guy wires, conductive wires, conductive cotton, circuit or any electrical connection material or by using any electrical connection means. The mounting plate  14  can be fixed to the outfit body  1  by adhering or sewing. 
         [0044]    Area IV and Area V of  FIG. 6-2  show a breakdown state of the functional part  40 . As shown, the lid  402  may be formed with an exposed feature, and for use in the operation of the functional module  401 , may further be provided with switch, indicator, camera, antenna, speaker and/or microphone. The outfit body  1  is also provided with a cover layer  15  thereon for covering and protecting the wires  12  to keep the wires  12  intact in conductivity. 
         [0045]    Therefore, in the intelligent wearable outfit and the external information platform in conjunction therewith as proposed in the invention, various functional modules are provided in corresponding functional parts, and a user may flexibly select a desirable functional part for use with the intelligent wearable outfit. The intelligent wearable outfit of the invention allows functional expansion and modification to be achieved by different arrangements of functional parts. The intelligent wearable outfit of the invention thereby has flexibly adjusted and integrated functions. 
         [0046]    The examples above are only illustrative to explain principles and effects of the invention, but not to limit the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the protection range of the rights of the invention should be as defined by the appended claims.