Mobile phone apparatus for performing sports physiological measurements and generating workout information

• US 20060063980A1
• Filed: 11/14/2005
• Published: 03/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Yuh-Swu Hwang
• Original Assignee: Yuh-Swu Hwang
• Inventors: Sun, York-Yih, Hwang, Yuh-Swu
• Application Number:
  US11/273,764
• Publication Number:
  US 20060063980A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/222 combined with detection or measurement of physiological parameters, e.g. heart rate
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0075 Means for generating exercise programs or schemes, e.g. computerized virtual trainer, e.g. using expert databases
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

Abstract

A mobile phone apparatus for performing sports physiological measurements and generating target workout information includes a motion detector, a physiological parameter detector, a portable housing, and a processing module. The motion detector detects motion of a user performing exercise, the physiological parameter detector detects physiological parameters of the user, the portable housing houses the processing module, and the processing module is coupled to the motion detector and the physiological parameter detector. The processing module establishes a series of workout stages having varying exercise intensities, estimates at least one of a maximum oxygen uptake quantity ({dot over (V)}O₂max) and an anaerobic threshold (AT) of the user performing exercise with reference to data obtained by the motion detector and the physiological parameter detector, and generates target workout information to the user performing exercise.

Claims

1. A mobile phone apparatus for performing sports physiological measurements and generating target workout information, comprising:

a motion detector for detecting motion of a user performing exercise;

a physiological parameter detector adapted to be placed in contact with the body of the user performing exercise, said physiological parameter detector detecting at least one physiological parameter of the user performing exercise;

a portable housing, said physiological parameter detector being mounted at least partially external to said portable housing; and

a processing module mounted in said portable housing and coupled to said motion detector and said physiological parameter detector, said processing module including

a performance estimating monitor for estimating at least one of a maximum oxygen uptake quantity ({dot over (V)}O₂max) and an anaerobic threshold (AT) of the user performing exercise with reference to data obtained by said motion detector and said physiological parameter detector, a workout training program for establishing a series of workout stages having varying exercise intensities to be targeted by the user performing exercise, and

a target performance indicator for generating target workout information to the user performing exercise with reference to data obtained by said motion detector and said physiological parameter detector, as well as said workout training program.

2. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 1, wherein said processing module includes a processor and a program memory coupled to said processor, said program memory storing program instructions executed by said processor for configuring said processing module to include said workout training program, said performance estimating monitor, and said target performance indicator.

3. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a display unit coupled to said processing module and operable so as to show the target workout information thereon.

4. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one of a vibration alert unit and a buzzer unit coupled to said processing module and operable so as to provide an alert signal corresponding to the target workout information.

5. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 1, wherein said motion detector and said physiological parameter detector are disposed externally of said portable housing.

6. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 1, wherein said motion detector includes an accelerometer associated operably with said processing module to enable said performance estimating monitor to determine exercise intensity of the user performing exercise.

7. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 6, wherein said performance estimating monitor determines at least one of number of paces per unit time, motion speed, distance traveled, and work exerted by the user performing exercise in power units with reference to data obtained by said accelerometer.

8. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 1, wherein said physiological parameter detector is adapted to detect at least one of a heart rate and a pulse rate of the user performing exercise.

9. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an environment detector coupled to said processing module and operable so as to detect environmental conditions to obtain environmental data, said performance estimating monitor suitably factoring in the environmental data when estimating the {dot over (V)}O₂max and the AT of the user performing exercise.

10. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a subscriber identity module card mounted in said portable housing and coupled to said processing module.

11. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a user interface coupled to said processing module and operable so as to input user-specific data, said performance estimating monitor suitably factoring in the user-specific data when estimating the {dot over (V)}O₂max and the AT of the user performing exercise.

12. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 11, wherein said user interface includes a keypad mounted on said portable housing.

13. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 11, wherein the user-specific data includes at least one of height, weight, age, and sex of the user performing exercise.

14. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 13, wherein said performance estimating monitor determines at least one of number of paces per unit time, motion speed, distance traveled, and work exerted by the user performing exercise in power units with reference to data obtained by said motion detector, and further calculates exercise intensity as a function of the number of paces per unit time, a stride distance parameter, and the weight of the user performing exercise.

15. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 14, further comprising an environment detector coupled to said processing module and operable so as to detect environmental conditions to obtain environmental data, said performance estimating monitor estimating the {dot over (V)}O₂max from:

(a) at least three sets of the data from said physiological parameter detector and the calculated exercise intensities associated respectively therewith, said at least three sets having a linear relationship;

(b) the sex, age and weight of the user performing exercise; and

(c) the environmental data.

16. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 14, wherein said performance estimating monitor estimates entropy for different exercise intensities, said performance estimating monitor associating the AT with the smallest entropy estimated thereby.

17. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 14, wherein said performance estimating monitor estimates power of heart rate variability for different exercise intensities, said performance estimating monitor associating the AT with the power of heart rate variability estimated thereby.

18. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 1, wherein the target workout information generated by said target performance indicator is for indicating to the user performing exercise as to times when the exercise intensities to be targeted by the user are to be progressively increased starting from a warm-up stage in accordance with said workout training program.

19. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 18, wherein said target performance indicator alerts the user performing exercise if the data obtained by said physiological parameter detector is not within a safety range, and enables progressive increase in the exercise intensity between successive workout stages with reference to said at least one of the {dot over (V)}O₂max and the AT estimated by said performance estimating monitor.

20. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a holder for securing said portable housing to the user performing exercise, said holder including a securing strap for securing said portable housing to said holder, and a fastening belt adapted to secure said holder to a body part of the user performing exercise,

at least one of said motion detector and said physiological parameter detector being mounted on said holder.

21. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 20, wherein said holder further includes a transmission line unit for coupling said processing module to said at least one of said motion detector and said physiological parameter detector mounted on said holder.

22. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 1, wherein said performance estimating monitor estimates AT of the user performing exercise with reference to data obtained by said motion detector and said physiological parameter detector using a regression analysis method.

23. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 22, wherein the regression analysis method comprises a linear regression method.

24. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 22, wherein the regression analysis method comprises a third-order curvilinear regression method.

25. The mobile phone apparatus of claim 22, wherein the regression analysis method comprises a logistical growth function method.