Energy Expenditure Computation Based On Accelerometer And Heart Rate Monitor
First Claim
1. An activity monitor, comprising:
- an accelerometer, the accelerometer is adapted to measure activity of a user during a monitoring period;
an on-demand heart rate monitor, the on-demand heart rate monitor is adapted to measure a heart rate of the user in response to the user touching the heart rate monitor at an end of the monitoring period; and
a processor, the processor is in communication with the accelerometer and the on-demand heart rate monitor, the processor determines an activity-based energy expenditure during the monitoring period based on the activity and a heart rate-based energy expenditure based on the heart rate and provides an output energy expenditure for the monitoring period based on a comparison of the activity-based energy expenditure with the heart rate-based energy expenditure.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An activity monitor such as a wrist-worn device has an accelerometer which continuously detects motion of the user. The activity monitor also has an on-demand heart rate monitor which is activated by the user touching it from time to time. A calorie expenditure based on the motion of the user can be modified based on a heart rate measurement. Further, a determination can be made as to whether the user has made repetitive motions for a period of time. If the repetitive motions are detected, a calorie expenditure based on the heart rate is determined and compared to the calorie expenditure based on the user motion, and the higher value prevails. A situation is avoided in which the activity monitor underestimates the calories expended, such as when the user is exercising strenuously but the accelerometer indicates relatively little motion, e.g., during strength training.
43 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. An activity monitor, comprising:
-
an accelerometer, the accelerometer is adapted to measure activity of a user during a monitoring period; an on-demand heart rate monitor, the on-demand heart rate monitor is adapted to measure a heart rate of the user in response to the user touching the heart rate monitor at an end of the monitoring period; and a processor, the processor is in communication with the accelerometer and the on-demand heart rate monitor, the processor determines an activity-based energy expenditure during the monitoring period based on the activity and a heart rate-based energy expenditure based on the heart rate and provides an output energy expenditure for the monitoring period based on a comparison of the activity-based energy expenditure with the heart rate-based energy expenditure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A method for determining an energy expenditure by a user, comprising:
-
obtaining acceleration readings of a user over a time period; determining an activity-based energy expenditure of the user in the time period based on the acceleration readings; obtaining a heart rate of the user after the time period; determining a heart rate-based energy expenditure of the user in the time period based on the heart rate of the user; comparing the activity-based energy expenditure to the heart rate-based energy expenditure; and providing an energy expenditure output to the user based on the comparing. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A computer-readable storage apparatus having computer-readable software embodied thereon for programming a processor to perform a method, the method comprising:
-
obtaining acceleration readings of a user; determining based on the acceleration readings that the user has performed a repetitive activity; determining a time period of the repetitive activity; determining an activity-based energy expenditure of the user in the time period based on the acceleration readings; obtaining a heart rate of the user after the time period from an on-demand heart rate monitor; determining a heart rate-based energy expenditure of the user in the time period based on the heart rate of the user; comparing the activity-based energy expenditure to the heart rate-based energy expenditure; and providing an energy expenditure output to the user based on the comparing. - View Dependent Claims (20)
-
Specification