AUDIBLE BIOFEEDBACK HEART RATE MONITOR WITH VIRTUAL COACH
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring a physiological parameter and coaching an exerciser during exercise, comprising:
- a sensor configured to sense a physiological parameter and provide a sensor signal representative of the actual level of the sensed parameter;
an input device configured to provide a target level of the physiological parameter;
a processor programmed to receive and compare the target level of the physiological parameter with the actual sensed level and in response to the comparison, play an audible coaching prompt indicative of the difference between the actual and the target; and
an audio transducer configured to receive the played audible coaching prompt and transduce it into audio energy for listening by the exerciser.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and associated method that provides a virtual coach to a person during an exercise routine includes a sensor used to sense the level of a physiological parameter of the exerciser, such as heart rate, a processor programmed to compare the sensed physiological parameter to a target level of the physiological parameter, and, depending on the comparison, provide coaching prompts to the exerciser. Coaching prompts include audible and visual prompts. In another feature, a visual image of a virtual coach may be made available for display to the exerciser, and in yet another feature, a video of the virtual coach saying the audio prompt may be displayed. The system allows for selection from a plurality of virtual coaches. The audio and video of virtual coaches are recordings of real people and may be produced or obtained from other sources. In one embodiment, audio, visual, and video of the virtual coach may be downloaded from the Internet.
94 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring a physiological parameter and coaching an exerciser during exercise, comprising:
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a sensor configured to sense a physiological parameter and provide a sensor signal representative of the actual level of the sensed parameter; an input device configured to provide a target level of the physiological parameter; a processor programmed to receive and compare the target level of the physiological parameter with the actual sensed level and in response to the comparison, play an audible coaching prompt indicative of the difference between the actual and the target; and an audio transducer configured to receive the played audible coaching prompt and transduce it into audio energy for listening by the exerciser. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for monitoring a physiological parameter and coaching an exerciser during exercise, comprising:
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a sensor configured to sense heart rate and provide a sensor signal representative of the actual heart rate level; a memory in which are stored a plurality of coaching prompts, wherein the stored coaching prompts vary in intensity of coaching and have a predetermined sequence for playing; an input device configured to provide a target level of the heart rate; a processor programmed to receive the input target level of the heart rate and store it in memory, the processor further programmed to compare the target level of heart rate with the actual sensed heart rate and in response to the comparison, retrieve a coaching prompt indicative of the difference between the actual and the target heart rates, the processor being programmed so as to retrieve and play the prompts in the order of that predetermined sequence and to consider any relationship between a former prompt and the present difference, from the memory and play the retrieved coaching prompt; and a transducer configured to receive the played coaching prompt and transduce it into a perceptible communication. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of monitoring a physiological parameter and coaching an exerciser during exercise, comprising:
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measuring a physiological parameter of an exerciser; selecting a target level for the physiological parameter of an exerciser; comparing the measured physiological parameter to the target level; outputting a coaching audio prompt to an exerciser based on the difference between the measured physiological parameter and the target physiological parameter; and in the event that a visual image or a video of a coach saying an audio prompt is desired, outputting a visual image and/or a video of a coach to an exerciser. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification