Wearable athletic activity monitoring systems

• US 10,244,984 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2017
• Issued: 04/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adidas AG
• Original Assignee: Adidas AG
• Inventors: Coza, Aurel, DiBenedetto, Christian, Munson, Ian Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Allen
• Application Number:
  US15/659,679
• Publication Number:
  US 20170319133A1
• Time in Patent Office: 615 Days
• Field of Search: 700 91
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0002 Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network A61B5/07 takes precedence; transmission systems for measured values G08C; transmission H04B; transmission of digital information H04L; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/002 Monitoring the patient using a local or closed circuit, e.g. in a room or building A61B5/0017 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/242 Detecting biomagnetic fields, e.g. magnetic fields produced by bioelectric currents
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6804 Garments; Clothes
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/20 Distances or displacements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/0038 Sports
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A sensor garment for monitoring an individual engaged in an athletic activity includes a garment formed of textile material, and a sensor module inseparably coupled to the textile material of the garment. The sensor module includes a single-purpose sensor configured to sense a single characteristic, and a radio antenna configured to transmit data generated by the single-purpose sensor. The sensor module includes no external port.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring an individual engaged in an athletic activity, the method comprising:

detecting movement of the individual at a first time using a sensor module inseparably coupled to a textile material of a garment configured to be worn by the individual engaged in the athletic activity;

determining that the movement of the individual corresponds to a predetermined activation movement;

the sensor module entering an active state in response to the determination that the movement of the individual corresponds to the predetermined activation movement; and

detecting movement of the individual at a second time while the sensor module is in the active state.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor module senses magnetic field data and acceleration data.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

comparing the magnetic field data and the acceleration data with a lookup table; and

identifying a movement of the individual based on the comparison,.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein sensing magnetic field data and acceleration data comprises:

sensing first magnetic field data and first acceleration data at a first time; and

sensing second magnetic field data and second acceleration data at a second time.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

determining an initial spatial orientation of the individual;

determining a change in spatial orientation of the individual;

determining an activity metric based on the change in the spatial orientation; and

providing an output that conveys the activity metric.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein comparing the magnetic field data and the acceleration data with a lookup table comprises:

comparing the initial spatial orientation of the individual and the change in the special orientation of the individual to the lookup table.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor module comprises a sensor, a radio antenna configured to transmit data generated by the sensor, and a flexible printed circuit board.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein an exterior of the sensor module is portless.

9. A system for monitoring an individual engaged in an athletic activity, the system comprising:

a processor,

a sensor module inseparably coupled to a textile material of a garment worn by the individual engaged in the athletic activity, the sensor module further comprising;

a sensor;

a radio antenna configured to transmit movement data generated by the sensor to the processor; and

a flexible printed circuit board,

wherein the processor is configured to compare the movement data to a lookup table to determine an activity metric.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the sensor module is powered by a capacitor.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the sensor is a single-purpose sensor configured to sense a single characteristic, and

wherein the sensor module comprises no sensor in addition to the single-purpose sensor.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the single characteristic is one of magnetic field data and acceleration data.

13. A method for monitoring an individual engaged in an athletic activity, the method comprising:

detecting movement of the individual using a sensor module inseparably coupled to a textile material of a garment configured to be worn by the individual engaged in the athletic activity;

recording movement data resulting from the detection of movement;

determining a correlation between the movement data and an activity metric by reference to a data structure; and

providing an output that conveys the activity metric.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the sensor senses one of acceleration data and magnetic field data.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining a first orientation and a first acceleration of the individual at a first time; and

determining a second orientation and a second acceleration of the individual at a second time.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the determination of the first orientation and first acceleration is based on first magnetic field data and first acceleration data, and wherein the determination of the second orientation and second acceleration is based on second magnetic field data and second acceleration data.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein providing the output comprises:

transmitting data representative of the identified movement of the individual; and

displaying a representation of the data representative of the identified movement on a display.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the sensor module is sewn, laser welded, or adhered to the garment.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the output is conveyed via an external component removably coupled to the textile material of the garment and configured to electrically connect with the sensor module.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the sensor module is sealed within a waterproof membrane.