EP4661739A1

EP4661739A1 - A garment

Info

Publication number: EP4661739A1
Application number: EP24752576.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ardalan Katebi; James Mohan; Anna Asnis
Original assignee: Catapult Group International Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Catapult Group International Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2023-02-09
Filing date: 2024-01-23
Publication date: 2025-12-17
Also published as: WO2024164040A1; AU2024216723A1

Abstract

According to the invention there is a garment formed as a shirt, harness or vest. The garment comprises a back pocket containing a receiver, arranged so that the pocket and receiver are between the shoulder blades of a person when wearing the garment. The garment also has at least two sensors (eg electrodes) at the front and which are arranged to detect heart related activity (eg ECG signals) of a person when wearing it. There are wires extending over a shoulder portion of the garment to respectively link the sensors and the receiver to facilitate communication of heart related activity between the sensors and the receiver. The garment also has compression means (eg an adjustable belt) adapted to press the sensors against the body of the person wearing the garment so as to facilitate the sensors to detect the heart related activity.

Description

TITLE

A Garment

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a garment, for example a vest, for use in monitoring heart activity during sport or athletic sessions, for example training or competitive events with a cardio aspect.

BACKGROUND

It is known for athletes engaged in events such as football codes, soccer, hockey, rowing, cycling, swimming, etc, to wear a vest that incorporates electronic apparatus for monitoring the heart activity of the athlete. A problem with these is they can be uncomfortable and not very well adapted to maintaining a good connection between heart sensors forming part of the vest and the person wearing it. It is an object of a preferred embodiment of the invention to go at least some way towards addressing this problem. However, it should be understood that the object of the invention per se is not so specific and is simply to provide the public with a useful choice.

DEFINITIONS

The term “comprises” or “has”, if and when used in this document in relation to one or more features, should not be seen as excluding the option of there being additional unmentioned features. The same applies to derivative terms such as “comprising” and “having”.

References in this document to “cardio” mean activity that raises a human’s heart and breathing rates as compared with a resting state.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect, the invention is a garment formed as a shirt, harness or vest, comprising:

• a back pocket containing a receiver, arranged so that the pocket and receiver are between the shoulder blades of a person when wearing the garment;

• at least two sensors (eg electrodes) at the front of the garment arranged to detect heart related activity (eg ECG signals) of the person when wearing the garment; • wires extending over a shoulder portion of the garment to respectively link the sensors and the receiver and enable communication of heart related activity between the sensors and the receiver; and

• a compression means (eg an adjustable belt) adapted to press the sensors against the body of the person when wearing the garment so as to facilitate the sensors detecting the heart related activity.

Optionally there are further sensors (eg electrodes) arranged to detect heart related activity connected to and communicating with the receiver by way of further wires arranged to extend over the shoulder portions of the garment.

Optionally the garment has an adjustable elastic belt portion arranged to compress the garment against the torso of a person when wearing it to facilitate effective contact between the sensors and the person.

Optionally each sensor comprises an adhesive film adapted to contact the skin and through which heart activity is able to be detected by the sensor.

Optionally each wire comprises an electrically conductive (eg metallic) thread wrapped (eg spiralled) around an elastic thread such that the wire as a whole has elastic quality so as to enable it to expand or contract commensurate with the size of the person that wears the garment.

Optionally the wire comprises conductive thread arranged as a spiral within a flexible plastic insulation sheath.

Optionally the garment has first and second adjustment means (eg a Velcro hook and loop fastening sets) one each side, formed so that these can be adjusted by a different amount at each side of the vest so that overall the vest is substantially evenly tensioned against the torso. This may serve to create a more comfortable or natural feeling of compression against the torso and serve to press the sensors against the skin of the person wearing the vest for enhanced connection between the sensors and skin. In some embodiments the Velcro may be directly aligned with (eg it may lay over) one or more of the sensors. DRAWINGS

Some preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which-

Figure 1 is an isometric view of a vest for monitoring the heart activity of an athlete during training or competitive events;

Figure 2 is rear view of the vest;

Figure 3 is a front view of the vest indicating the position of internal sensors and associated wires;

Figure 4 is a rear view of the vest showing the position of the wires and an electronic receiver;

Figure 5A&B illustrate the manner in which the sensors are secured in the vest;

Figure 6 illustrates detail of the surface of one of the sensors;

Figure 7 illustrates the manner in which the wires are secured in the vest;

Figure 8 illustrates the make-up of the wires;

Figure 8A illustrates an optional different make-up for the wires;

Figure 9 illustrates the manner in which the wires connect to the receiver;

Figure 10A is an isometric view of a vest according to a further embodiment of the invention for monitoring the heart activity of an athlete during training or competitive events;

Figure 10B is rear view of the Figure 10A vest;

Figure 10C is a front view of the Figure 10A vest indicating the position of internal sensors and associated wires;

Figure 10D is a rear view of the Figure 10A vest showing the position of the wires and an electronic receiver; and

Figure 11 illustrates a symmetrical double adjustment feature for vests according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to Figures 1-4, the vest 1 is made to be worn by an athlete in the normal way while training or competing. It has a pocket 2 at the rear, positioned between the shoulder blades of the athlete when worn, and also for housing an electronic receiver 3 connected to heart sensors 4 (eg comprising electrodes) (see Figure 3).

The receiver 3 comprises a device capable of receiving signals from the sensors 4. Preferably the receiver 3 is able to amplify and filter the signals, and also to transmit information based on the signals to a remote processing device or devices. In some embodiments the receiver is capable of storing information indicative of the signals and this may be uploaded or otherwise extracted when convenient.

The arrangement is such that the sensors 4 continuously detect heart activity of the athlete while wearing the vest and communicate this to the receiver 3. Each sensor 4 comprises an ECG electrode and therefore picks up electrical activity of the heart. As shown in Figure 3, there are two of the sensors 4, but in other embodiments of the invention there may be more.

In some embodiments, the receiver 3 may also be adapted to determine the speed, acceleration, jump parameters, collision impact force, and position/location of the person wearing the vest, for example by way of GPS and gyroscopes, etc, which it may incorporate or connect to.

As illustrated in Figures 3 & 4, the sensors 4 are located at the front of the vest and connect to the receiver 3 by way of wires 5. The arrangement is such that the sensors 4 sit just below the athlete’s pectoralis major muscle, and the wires 5 extend upwards from there, preferably generally in line with about the middle of those muscles, and run over the shoulders to the receiver.

Running the wires over the shoulders means they lay against parts of the torso where there is normally less movement during training or competitive activity. If for example the wires were looped around the middle of the chest, they would be more exposed to movement and therefore to undesirable stretching from normal inhalation, exhalation, and body movement generally. They would also be more prone to undesirable stretching and breakage when the vest is put on and taken off.

Referring to Figure 5A (see the image on the left-hand side), each sensor 4 is attached to an elastic band 6 forming part of the base of the vest. More specifically, the sensors 4 are secured to a layer of fabric 7 by way of adhesive material, for example heat transfer tape 4a. In some embodiments the sensors 4 may be secured to the fabric 7 by stitching, or with a combination of stitching and heat transfer tape. Optionally, the layer 7 comprises a strip of knit fabric, elastic band, nylon wool, recycled polyester, woolly yarn and/or synthetic fibres (eg Elastane, Lycra, Spandex or polyether-polyurea copolymer).

As illustrated, the sensor 4 comprises two layers of the heat transfer tape 4a sandwiching a flexible conductive textile 4b. The senor’s electrode for contacting the skin is the conductive layer 4c. Overall, the layering is, in order, band 6 - heat transfer tape 4a - conductive textile 4b - heat transfer tape 4a - electrode 4c.

The image on the right-hand side in Figure 5A shows the layers 4a, 4b and 4c after they have been subjected to heat and compression during manufacture of the sensor 4. The heat and compression causes the outer layer or heat transfer tape 4a to shrink and effectively glue the conductive layers 4c and 4b to one another such that they touch one another at various points 4d to electrically connect them. The connection points 4d are essentially at gaps or holes in the outer layer 4a that arise from the heating and compression during manufacture. The wires 5 (not shown in figure 5A) are electrically connected to the layer 4b.

Figure 5B shows a simplified embodiment of the sensor with only one layer of heat transfer tape 4a and the skin contacting layer 4c. There is no conductive textile layer. In this embodiment the wires 5 (not shown) connect directly to the electrode skin contacting later 4c.

In both the Figure 5A and 5B embodiments, the band 6 is preferably formed to give the base of the vest elastic flexibility in the transverse direction, or in other words in the direction looping around the torso of the wearer. Optionally the band is not elastic, or is not significantly elastic, in its vertical dimension. The band may be opened and closed as a belt, for example by way of the hook and loop (Velcro™) fastener strips 9 (see Figure 1). These also allow for the effective length of the band to be adjusted to regulate the elastic tension it is under and, as a consequence, the degree to which the vest is compressed against the body of the wearer. A good but comfortable level of compression is desirable so as to keep the sensors in good sensing proximity to the skin.

In both the Figure 5A and 5B embodiments the layer 4c may comprise a polymer based material and the layer 4b may comprise conductive textile. The textile 4b may be deposited with electrically conductive metallic particles, for example comprising silver. The reason for the more complex structure of Figure 5A compared to Figure 5B is that connection of the wires 5 to the textile layer 4b is simpler than direct connection of them to the layer 4c. However, both embodiments can be used depending on manufacturing and end user preferences.

Referring to Figure 6, each sensor 4 that engages the skin may comprise silicon having a silver coated electrode 4d for skin contact, held on the non-skin side of the band by an adhesive hot-melt film material (not shown). Alternatively, the sensor 4 may comprise a layer of conductive knit fabric, conductive woven fabric or conductive film for contacting the skin. If viewed at a micro-level, the electrode 4d has an undulating skin contacting surface 8. These undulations are generally similar to those of the surface of human skin 9. This aids in keeping the sensors close to the skin so that they can readily detect ECG signals from the heart. Preferably, the sensor’s skin contacting surface, when it is a silicone based conductive material, has an adhesive aspect to it to facilitate a good close adhesive contact with the skin. In some alternative embodiments the skin contacting surface 8 may be a strip, sheet or the like, distinct or separate from the rest sensor.

The position of the sensors is such as to enable ready detection of the athlete’s heart rate in terms of beats per minute or heart rate variability. For this, it is desirable that at least one of the sensors is close to the heart. Preferably, for a good connection and support between sensors and the body, they are arranged to sit on the ribs and slightly away from the body’s floating bones. Positioning against the ribs means that the sensors lay against parts of the body that move less than, for example, soft tissue and muscle. This helps avoid undesirable EMG ‘noise’, artifacts, or muscular activation interference.

Referring to Figure 7, the wires 5 may be sandwiched between a layer of knit fabric 10 and a layer of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) hot-melt film 11 . The TPU film is such that it has been melted during manufacture of the vest to bond insulation fabric to base fabric. The TPU layer lays against garment fabric and an insulating layer lays against the skin when the vest is in use. The sandwich structure helps protect the wires from abrasion that may otherwise lead to undue wear and tear breakage.

Referring to Figure 8, in some embodiments the wires 5 comprise a flexible thread core 12 and electrically conductive (eg metallic) threads 13 (eg silver coated threads). The arrangement is such that the electrically conductive threads 13 spiral around the flexible core 12. The arrangement is also such that the core provides elasticity so that the wires can stretch out. This does not cause the conductive threads 13 to break as they have plenty of excess length in their spiral loops to resiliently stretch out with the core 12 when needed.

Optionally the wires 5 may comprise one or more of:

• spiral conductive yarn/thread bonded around the flexible plastic core with hot melt tape/film;

• conductive sheet (knitted) with hot melt tape/film;

• conductive thread bonded with stitching/knitting;

• twisted conductive thread with TPU insulation, bonded around the flexible plastic core with hot melt tape/film;

• zig zag patterned conductive thread bonded around the flexible plastic core with stitching/knitting.

Referring to Figure 8A, in some embodiments of the invention each of the wires 5 comprises conductive threads 5a arranged as a spiral around a flexible elongate core so that they are lengthways ‘spring-back extendible’, within a plastic insulation sheath 5b that is flexible in at least the longitudinal dimension.

Referring to Figure 9, in some embodiments of the invention the wires 5 may comprise a strip of conductive fabric or e-textile fitted with a female connector 14 which can be ‘snap-fit- engaged’ with a complimentary male connector 15 forming part of the receiver 3 in the vest’s back pocket 2.

Referring again to Figures 1 -4, in preferred embodiments the vest incorporates mesh fabric panels 16 to give it good air circulation or breathability. Preferred mesh fabrics comprises nylon (eg. spandex tricot) fabric.

Referring to Figures 10A, 10B, 10C and 10D, in an alternative embodiment of the invention the vest is formed to more particularly compliment the female body. In these drawings the same reference numbers are used to identify the same, or substantially the same, parts. As will be observed, instead of the wires 5 extending up over the shoulders from the sensors 4 in the same way as the male body version of the vest, they extend around the sides of the vest and then up at the back of the vest to the receiver 3. But in alternative embodiments of the vest for females, the wires may extend from the sensors, go up over the shoulders, and down to the device 3. These drawings show versions of the vest with front wiring with/without adjustment belts, and back wiring with/without adjustment belts.

Referring to Figure 11 , vests according to the invention, including each of those above, may provide for symmetrical double Velcro 9 (eg hook and loop strips) adjustment. This facilitates compression of the electrodes or other types of sensors against the skin to readily pick up the heart activity. More specifically, the band at the base of the vest has Velcro fastenings and is adjustable at both sides so that the vest can be tightened against the torso of the person wearing it from either side. This facilitates more even compression across the vest in case, for example more adjustment is needed at one side than the other if a sensor electrode is present at one side but not the other. This enables the person wearing the vest to experience a more even and ‘natural feeling tension’ across the vest.

While some forms of the invention have been described by way of example, it should be appreciated that modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

In terms of disclosure, this document envisages and hereby posits any feature mentioned herein in combination with itself or any other feature or features mentioned herein, even if the combination is not claimed below. For example the vest articulated in its broadest expression the summary of invention section may comprise one of more of any of the wire, sensor, adjustment feature and/or fabric types mentioned as preferences or options anywhere in this specification.

Claims

1. A garment formed as a shirt, harness or vest, comprising: a) a back pocket containing a receiver, arranged so that the pocket and receiver are between the shoulder blades of a person when wearing the garment; b) at least two sensors (eg electrodes) at the front of the garment arranged to detect heart related activity (eg ECG signals) of the person when wearing the garment; c) wires extending over a shoulder portion of the garment to respectively link the sensors and the receiver and enable communication of heart related activity between the sensors and the receiver; and d) compression means (eg an adjustable belt) adapted to press the sensors against the body of the person when wearing the garment so as to facilitate the sensors detecting the heart related activity.

2. A garment according to claim 1 , wherein there are further sensors (eg electrodes) arranged to detect heart related activity connected to and communicating with the receiver by way of further wires arranged to extend over the shoulder portions of the garment.

3. A garment according to claim 1 or 2, comprising an adjustable elastic belt portion arranged to compress the garment against the torso of a person when wearing it to facilitate effective contact between the sensors and the person.

4. A garment according to claim 1 , 2 or 3, wherein each sensor comprises an adhesive film adapted to contact the skin and through which heart activity is able to be detected by the sensor.

5. A garment according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each wire comprises a electrically conductive (eg metallic) thread wrapped (eg spiralled) around an elastic thread or core such that the wire as a whole has elastic quality so as to enable it to expand or contract commensurate with the size of the person that wears the garment.

6. A garment according to any one of claims 1 -4, wherein the wire comprises conductive thread arranged as a spiral within a flexible plastic insulation sheath.

7. A garment according to any one of the preceding claims, having first and second adjustment means (eg a Velcro hook and loop fastening set), one each side, formed so that these can be adjusted by a different amount at each side of the vest so that overall the vest is substantially evenly tensioned against the torso.

8. A garment according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the compression means comprises elastic material.

9. A garment according to claim 1 : a) comprising an adjustable elastic belt portion arranged to compress the garment against the torso of a person when wearing it to facilitate effective contact between the sensors and the person; b) wherein each sensor comprises an adhesive film adapted to contact the skin and through which heart activity is able to be detected by the sensor; c) wherein each wire comprises: i. electrically conductive thread spiralled around an elastic thread such that the wire as a whole has elastic quality so as to enable it to expand or contract commensurate with the size of the person that wears the garment; or ii. each wire comprises conductive thread arranged as a spiral within a flexible plastic insulation sheath; and d) comprising first and second Velcro hook and loop fastening sets, one each side, formed so that these can be adjusted by a different amount at each side of the vest so that overall the vest is substantially evenly tensioned against the torso.