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US-20260129454-A1 - Electronics Module for a Wearable Article

US20260129454A1US 20260129454 A1US20260129454 A1US 20260129454A1US-20260129454-A1

Abstract

An interface 101 is arranged to communicatively couple with an electronics arrangement of the wearable article so as to receive a signal from the electronics arrangement. A controller 103 is communicatively coupled to the interface 101 and arranged to receive the signal from the interface 101 . A power source 105 is coupled to the controller 103 and arranged to supply power to the controller 103 . A first antenna 107 is arranged to communicatively couple with a mobile device over a first wireless communication protocol. A second antenna 109 is arranged to communicatively couple with the mobile device over a second wireless communication protocol. In response to the mobile device being brought into proximity with the electronics module 100 , the first antenna 107 is triggered to transmit information to the mobile device over the first wireless communication protocol.

Inventors

  • Michael John Lynch
  • Mantas Jurkuvenas

Assignees

  • PREVAYL INNOVATIONS LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20260105
Priority Date
20200121

Claims (18)

  1. 1 . An electronics module of a wearable article, comprising: an interface communicatively coupled with an electronics arrangement of the wearable article, and configured to receive a signal from the electronics arrangement; a controller, communicatively coupled to the interface, and configured to receive the signal from the interface; a power source, coupled to the controller, and configured to supply power to the controller; a first antenna comprising a power receiving antenna configured to receive power from an external device for charging the power source; and a housing comprising a top enclosure and a bottom enclosure, wherein the bottom enclosure is arranged to be closer to skin of a user than the top enclosure in use, wherein the power source, the controller, and the first antenna are provided in the housing, and wherein the first antenna is provided proximate to the top enclosure and positioned above the power source and the controller.
  2. 2 . The electronics module of claim 1 , wherein the interface extends through one or more openings in the bottom enclosure to electrically conductively connect with the electronics arrangement of the wearable article.
  3. 3 . The electronics module of claim 1 , wherein the interface comprises: a first conductive element electrically conductively connected with a first electronics arrangement of the wearable article; and a second conductive element electrically conductively connected with a second electronics arrangement of the wearable article.
  4. 4 . The electronics module of claim 1 , further comprising a second antenna arranged in the housing below the first antenna.
  5. 5 . The electronics module of claim 4 , wherein the second antenna is configured to communicate with the external device over a wireless communication protocol.
  6. 6 . The electronics module of claim 5 , wherein the first antenna is configured to communicate over a first wireless communication protocol, and the second antenna is configured to communicate over a second wireless communication protocol having a longer communication range than the first wireless communication protocol.
  7. 7 . The electronics module of claim 1 , wherein the electronics module is further configured to transmit information to the external device via the first antenna.
  8. 8 . The electronics module of claim 1 , wherein the electronics module is removably coupled to the wearable article.
  9. 9 . The electronics module of claim 1 , further comprising a printed circuit board on which the controller is provided.
  10. 10 . The electronics module of claim 9 , further comprising a second antenna provided on the printed circuit board.
  11. 11 . A wearable article comprising the electronics module of claim 1 .
  12. 12 . The wearable article of claim 11 , wherein the electronics arrangement of the wearable article comprises one or more sensing components.
  13. 13 . The wearable article of claim 12 , wherein the one or more sensing components comprise one or more moisture sensors.
  14. 14 . The wearable article of claim 11 , wherein the electronics module is removably coupled to the wearable article.
  15. 15 . The wearable article of claim 11 , further comprising a mechanical interface mechanically coupling the electronics module to the wearable article.
  16. 16 . The wearable article of claim 11 , wherein the wearable article is an item of clothing.
  17. 17 . The wearable article of claim 16 , wherein the item of clothing is an item of underwear.
  18. 18 . A system comprising the wearable article of claim 11 and a device comprising a power transmitter, wherein the device is configured to transfer power to the power receiving antenna of the electronics module when the electronics module is in proximity to the device.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This patent application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/792,500, filed on Jul. 13, 2022 and entitled “ELECTRONICS MODULE FOR A WEARABLE ARTICLE,” which is a national stage application of International Application No. PCT/GB2021/050113 filed on Jan. 19, 2021 and entitled “ELECTRONICS MODULE FOR A WEARABLE ARTICLE,” which claims priority to GB Patent Application No. GB2000860.3, filed on Jan. 21, 2020 and GB Patent Application No. GB2011930.1, filed on Jul. 31, 2020. The aforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein as if reproduced in their entireties. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure is directed towards an electronics module for a wearable article and, in particular, an electronics module arranged to transmit information to a mobile device such as for use in wireless pairing the electronics module to the mobile device. BACKGROUND Electronics modules for wearable articles such as garments are known to communicate with mobile devices over wireless communication protocols such as Bluetooth® and Bluetooth® Low Energy. These electronics modules are typically removably attached to the wearable article, interface with internal electronics of the wearable article, and comprise a Bluetooth® antenna for communicating with the mobile device. To pair the electronics module to the mobile device, the user of the mobile device must first select the appropriate electronics module from a potentially long list of devices on a user interface of the mobile device. This may be challenging for the user particularly if there are many Bluetooth® devices in communication range with the mobile device. Outside of the field of electronics modules for wearable articles, it is known to use near-field communication technologies to enhance the user experience of applications that use Bluetooth® technology. In particular, the publication “Bluetooth® Secure Simple Pairing Using NFC” which was published by the Bluetooth® Special Interest Group of the NFC forum on 9 Jan. 2014 describes that NFC can be used to enhance the selection of Bluetooth® devices, the secure connection of Bluetooth® devices and the initialisation of applications on Bluetooth® devices. The disclosures of this document are hereby incorporated by reference. It is an object of the present disclosure to provide an electronics module for a wearable article that facilitates a more seamless wireless user experience and which minimises the amount of interaction required by the user via an interface of a mobile device to facilitate communication between the mobile device and the electronics module. It is another object of the present disclosure to provide an electronics module for a wearable article with a structure that facilitates the transfer of power and/or data between the electronics module and an external device. SUMMARY According to the present disclosure there is provided an electronics module, wearable article, system, and method as set forth in the appended claims. Other features of the invention will be apparent from the dependent claims, and the description which follows. According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an electronics module for a wearable article. The electronics module comprises an interface arranged to communicatively couple with an electronics arrangement of the wearable article so as to receive a signal from the electronics arrangement. The module comprises a controller, communicatively coupled to the interface, and arranged to receive the signal from the interface. The module comprises a power source, coupled to the controller, and arranged to suppl power to the controller. The module comprises a first antenna arranged to communicatively couple with a mobile device over a first wireless communication protocol. The module comprises a second antenna arranged to communicatively couple with the mobile device over a second wireless communication protocol. In response to the mobile device being brought into proximity with the electronics module, the first antenna is triggered to transmit information to the mobile device over the first wireless communication protocol. The electronics module may be configured to trigger/energize the first antenna to transmit information to the mobile device over the first wireless communication protocol. Terms such as trigger and energize as used throughout this specification are intended to have the same meaning and generally refer to the first antenna being initiated, caused, enabled or otherwise activated to transmit information to the first wireless communication protocol. These examples may but are not required to mean that the electronics module induces a current in the first antenna to cause the first antenna to actively transmit the information. The current may be induced by the mobile device as explained in more detail below. The current may be induced by a combination of the mobile device and the