Adjustable training system for athletics and physical rehabilitation including student unit and remote unit communicable therewith
First Claim
1. An apparatus for monitoring the position of a body part of a user, the apparatus being attachable to the user'"'"'s body part, comprising:
- a sensor configured to sense an angular rotation of the body part around at least one axis, and to provide data representative of the sensed angular rotation;
a memory operative to store data representative of a plurality of spoken words or phrases;
a first processor operative to compare the sensed angular rotation to at least one predetermined threshold, and, in the event the angular rotation exceeds the predetermined threshold, to access word or phrase data signaling the sensed angular rotation from the memory;
a voice processor operative to convert the accessed word or phrase data to a corresponding voice signal; and
an audio sub-system configured to receive the voice signal from the voice processor, and to audibly produce the spoken word or phrase corresponding to the voice signal, thereby providing verbal feedback signaling the sensed angular rotation to the user.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method of monitoring the position of a body part of a user. The system may be employed in athletic training, physical rehabilitation, or maintenance of proper body balance in daily activities. The system essentially creates a learning environment in which an athlete or physiotherapy patient is taught via immediate verbal feedback the proper body position to maintain for a particular sport or activity. The system includes one or more motion-detecting/signal-emitting units (“student units”) and one or more monitor/control units (“pro units”). Each student unit is mountable on the student user, and a position sensor within the unit senses a direction/magnitude of tilt/rotation relative to a predetermined reference position. The user of the pro unit can remotely monitor the positional information generated by the student unit via a wireless communications interface, as the user engages in the particular sport or activity. The pro user can change selected operational modes of the student unit based on the monitored angular/rotational position information.
83 Citations
56 Claims
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1. An apparatus for monitoring the position of a body part of a user, the apparatus being attachable to the user'"'"'s body part, comprising:
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a sensor configured to sense an angular rotation of the body part around at least one axis, and to provide data representative of the sensed angular rotation;
a memory operative to store data representative of a plurality of spoken words or phrases;
a first processor operative to compare the sensed angular rotation to at least one predetermined threshold, and, in the event the angular rotation exceeds the predetermined threshold, to access word or phrase data signaling the sensed angular rotation from the memory;
a voice processor operative to convert the accessed word or phrase data to a corresponding voice signal; and
an audio sub-system configured to receive the voice signal from the voice processor, and to audibly produce the spoken word or phrase corresponding to the voice signal, thereby providing verbal feedback signaling the sensed angular rotation to the user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of monitoring the position of a body part of a user, comprising the steps of:
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sensing an angular rotation of the body part around at least one axis by a sensor attachable to the user'"'"'s body part;
storing data representative of a plurality of spoken words or phrases in a memory;
comparing the sensed angular rotation to at least one predetermined threshold by a first processor;
in the event the angular rotation exceeds the predetermined threshold, accessing word or phrase data signaling the sensed angular rotation from the memory by the first processor;
converting the accessed word or phrase data to a corresponding voice signal by a voice processor; and
audibly producing the spoken word or phrase corresponding to the voice signal by an audio sub-system, thereby providing verbal feedback signaling the sensed angular rotation to the user. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An apparatus for monitoring the position of a body part of a user, the apparatus being attachable to the user'"'"'s body part, comprising:
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a sensor configured to sense an angular rotation of the body part around at least one axis, and to provide data representative of the sensed angular rotation, wherein the sensed angular rotation results from a motion of the user'"'"'s body part, the frequency of the motion being within a predetermined frequency range; and
a processor operative to filter the sensed angular rotation data to remove frequencies outside the predetermined frequency range, and to provide an output signaling the sensed angular rotation based at least on a magnitude of the filtered angular rotation data. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method of monitoring the position of a body part of a user, comprising the steps of:
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sensing an angular rotation of the body part around at least one axis by a sensor attachable to the user'"'"'s body part;
providing data representative of the sensed angular rotation by the sensor, wherein the sensed angular rotation results from a motion of the user'"'"'s body part, the frequency of the motion being within a predetermined frequency range;
filtering the sensed angular rotation data to remove frequencies outside the predetermined frequency range by a processor; and
providing an output signaling the sensed angular rotation based at least on a magnitude of the filtered angular rotation data by the processor. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A system for monitoring the position of a body part of a user, comprising:
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at least one local unit attachable to the user'"'"'s body part, the local unit being operative to sense an angular rotation of the body part around at least one axis, and, in the event the angular rotation exceeds a first threshold level, to provide an output signaling the sensed angular rotation; and
at least one remote unit operative to monitor the signaling output provided by the local unit. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A method of monitoring the position of a body part of a user, comprising the steps of:
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providing at least one local unit, the local unit being attachable to the user'"'"'s body part;
sensing an angular rotation of the body part around at least one axis by the local unit;
in the event the angular rotation exceeds a first threshold level, providing an output signaling the sensed angular rotation by the local unit; and
monitoring the signaling output provided by the local unit by at least one remote unit. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. An apparatus for monitoring the position of a body part of a user, the apparatus being attachable to the user'"'"'s body part, comprising:
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a sensor operative to sense an angular rotation of the body part around at least one axis, and to provide data representative of the sensed angular rotation; and
a processor operative to provide a first output signaling the user to rotate the body part in a predetermined direction relative to the at least one axis to establish a directional orientation of the sensor, and to provide a second output signaling the sensed angular rotation based at least in part on the directional orientation of the sensor.
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56. A method of monitoring the position of a body part of a user, comprising the steps of:
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sensing an angular rotation of the body part around at least one axis by a sensor, the sensor being attachable to the user'"'"'s body part;
providing data representative of the sensed angular rotation by the sensor;
providing a first output signaling the user to rotate the body part in a predetermined direction relative to the at least one axis by a processor, thereby establishing a directional orientation of the sensor; and
providing a second output signaling the sensed angular rotation based at least in part on the directional orientation of the sensor by the processor.
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Specification