Power saving techniques for continuous heart rate monitoring
First Claim
1. A method for determining a heart rate, comprising:
- detecting a heart rate of a subject by a monitor; and
changing power for the monitor based on the detected heart rate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A heart rate monitor implements power saving algorithms while monitoring a subject'"'"'s heart rate. The monitor continuously monitors a subject during an initial period to determine an initial heart rate. After the initial heart rate is acquired, power may not be provided for portions of the monitor until a heart beat is expected to occur. At some point before the expected heart beat occurs, power is returned to the components which have not received power. The expected heart beat is then detected, and power to selected portions of the monitor is terminated again until another expected heart beat approaches in time. By providing power to monitor components just before an expected heart beat, the monitor may still detect the heart beat and determine the corresponding heart rate of the user. The period of time during which power is terminated for some components may be determined from the detected heart rate. The number of heart beats during which power is terminated for selected monitor components may vary.
155 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method for determining a heart rate, comprising:
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detecting a heart rate of a subject by a monitor; and
changing power for the monitor based on the detected heart rate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for determining a heart rate, comprising:
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transmitting a continuous signal towards a subject'"'"'s artery for an initial period of time;
determining an initial heart rate of the subject from a reflected continuous signal received during the initial period of time;
transmitting a non-continuous signal towards the artery for a subsequent period of time after the initial period of time; and
determining a subsequent heart rate of the subject from a reflected non-continuous signal. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. One or more processor readable storage devices having processor readable code embodied on said processor readable storage devices, said processor readable code for programming one or more processors to perform a method comprising:
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driving a transmitter device continuously for an initial period of time, the transmitter device configured to transmit a signal to a subject when driven;
detecting a heart rate for the subject from a reflected signal during the initial period of time; and
driving the transmitter device non-continuously for a second period of time in response to detecting the heart rate. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A heart rate monitor, comprising:
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a transmitter device that transmits a signal towards a subject;
a receiver device, said receiver detects a reflected signal;
a driving circuit in communication with said transmitter device and said receiver device, the driving circuit drives the transmitter device at full power and at reduced power in response to detecting a heart rate of the subject; and
signal processing circuitry connected to the signal receiver. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A heart rate monitor, comprising:
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a transmitting element that transmits a signal towards a subject'"'"'s artery;
a receiving element which receives a reflected signal from the subject'"'"'s artery;
signal processing circuitry in communication with said receiving element, said signal processing circuitry determining a subject'"'"'s heart rate from the reflected signal; and
a driving circuit in communication with said transmitting element, said receiving element and said signal processing circuitry, the driving circuit driving the transmitting element at full power for an initial period of time, and alternately driving the transmitting element at full power and low power for a subsequent period of time in response to the heart rate determined by the signal processing circuitry. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification