ACTIVITY MONITORING COMPUTING DEVICE AND SYSTEM

• US 20150099945A1
• Filed: 10/07/2014
• Published: 04/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2013
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Wahoo Fitness LLC
• Original Assignee: Wahoo Fitness LLC
• Inventors: Hawkins, Harold M. III, Lyle, Michael A., Collins, Bradley Jaymes, Uroda, Christopher Luke, Snaterse, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 10,285,625 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/301
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02438 with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0245 by using sensing means generating electric signals, i.e. ECG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6823 Trunk, e.g., chest, back, abdomen, hip
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6831 Straps, bands or harnesses
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7235 Details of waveform analysis A61B5/349 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/002 for cycles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/006 Pedometers

Abstract

An activity monitoring device (AMD) wearable on the torso of a user. The AMD including functional components such as an accelerometer, a processor, on-board data memory, a wireless transmitter and electrodes for detecting heart rate. The functional components configured to collect data in order to provide heart rate information, running speed, ground contact time, vertical oscillation, cycling cadence, riding positions (standing or seated) and other functions. The device may be accessed and controlled by way of the wireless connection. The device and/or functions thereof may also be controlled through accurate user tap detection. The device may further store and transmit information relevant to various functions for remote storage or display.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a housing coupled with a strap configured to secure the housing to a torso of a user;

a computing unit disposed within the housing and in communication with a pair of electrodes, the pair of electrodes configured to detect heart rate signals from the user, the computing unit coupled with a memory to store processed heart rate signals; and

an accelerometer in communication with the computing unit, the accelerometer configured to communicate acceleration data associated with movements of the user to the processor, the computing unit further configured to generate and store processed acceleration data in the memory.

2. The device of claim 1 further comprising:

the accelerometer configured to generate sets of a first acceleration value along a first axis, a set of second acceleration values along a second axis, and a set of third acceleration values along a third axis; and

the computing unit configured to obtain data for processing a running smoothness metric, the running smoothness metric being a function of a resultant jerk cost calculation using at least one of the first acceleration values, the second acceleration values and the third acceleration values.

3. The device of claim 1 further comprising:

a wireless transmitter supported in the housing and operably coupled with the processor.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured for detecting a user initiated pair of taps to control functions implemented by the processor, the accelerometer to obtain a first acceleration value along a first axis and a second acceleration value along a second axis, the computing unit operating on computer executable instructions for:

obtain a first jerk value for the first acceleration value and a second jerk value for the second acceleration value;

obtain a first summation of the first jerk value and the second jerk value;

when the first summation value exceeds a first threshold;

obtain a third acceleration value along the first axis and a fourth acceleration value along the second axis;

obtain a third jerk value for the third acceleration value and a fourth jerk value for the fourth acceleration value; and

when a second summation of the third jerk value and the fourth jerk value a second threshold within a period of the first summation exceeding the first threshold, providing an identification of the user initiated pair of taps to the device.

5. The device of claim 4 further comprising:

initiating an action of the computing unit upon the detection of the user initiated pair of taps to the device.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein the first axis is along a forward-backward direction of movement and the second axis is along a side-to-side movement.

7. The device of claim 4 wherein the period is between about 110 and 260 milliseconds.

8. The device of claim 4 wherein the first threshold is about 200 G/s and the second threshold is about 200 G/s.

9. The device of claim 2 further comprising:

the computing unit includes computer executable instructions for;

obtaining a first set of jerk values for the first set of acceleration values;

obtaining a step duration from the first set of jerk values;

obtaining a first jerk cost value by integrating squared jerk of the set of jerk values for the step duration.

obtaining a resultant jerk cost based on the sum of the first jerk cost value;

generating the running smoothness value based on the resultant jerk cost; and

transmitting the running smoothness value for display.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein the first axis is in the forward-backward direction, and the second axis in the side-to-side direction and the third axis is in the vertical direction, the processing unit further including computer executable instructions for:

obtaining a set of second jerk values for the second acceleration values and a set of third jerk values for the third acceleration values;

obtaining a second jerk cost value and a third jerk cost value by integrating the second jerk values and the third jerk values for the step duration; and

obtaining the resultant jerk cost based on the first jerk cost value, the second jerk cost value, and the third jerk cost value.

11. The device of claim 10, the computing unit further comprising computer executable instructions for:

comparing the smoothness value to a sample set of smoothness values; and

normalizing the smoothness value based on the sample set of smoothness values.

12. The device of claim 1 further comprising:

the computing unit receiving from the accelerometer a plurality of acceleration values along a vertical axis for a duration of a step, the computing unit including computer executable instructions for;

obtaining a plurality of velocity values for the first acceleration value, the plurality of velocity values adjusted with a gravitational offset;

from the plurality of velocity values, identifying a minimum velocity and a maximum velocity for the step;

generating a model velocity sine wave using the duration of the step and a magnitude of the vertical velocity signal based on the minimum velocity and the maximum velocity; and

generating a vertical oscillation value of user wearing the device based on the vertical height of the model velocity sine wave at the half point of the step.

13. The device of claim 1 further comprising:

the computing unit configured to obtain bicycle riding cadence through computer executable instructions for;

obtaining, from the accelerometer, a first plurality of acceleration values along a vertical axis and a second plurality of acceleration values along a second axis;

obtaining a first plurality of jerk values for the first plurality of acceleration values and a second plurality of jerk values for the second plurality of acceleration values;

detect a first series of zero crossings for the first plurality of jerk values and a second series of zero crossings for the second plurality of jerk values;

obtain a first set of time durations between the first series of zero crossings and a second set of time durations between the second series of zero crossings; and

identify a riding cadence value based on whether the first set of time durations or the second set of time durations has a lower variability.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein the second axis is a side-to-side axis, and the riding cadence is based on the variability in the set of durations between vertical oscillation or side-to-side oscillation.

15. The device of claim 14, the computing unit further configured to:

filter the first plurality of acceleration values with a filter having a first cutoff frequency of and the second plurality of acceleration values with a second filter having about double the cutoff frequency of the first filter.

16. The device of claim 15 wherein the first frequency is about 1.5 Hz and the second frequency is about 3 Hz.

17. The device of claim 1 further comprising:

the computing unit including computer executable instructions to determine whether the user while bicycling is standing or seated comprising;

obtaining, from the accelerometer, a first plurality of acceleration values along a vertical axis and a second plurality of acceleration values along a forward-backward axis;

obtaining a first plurality of jerk values for the first plurality of acceleration values and a second plurality of jerk values for the second plurality of acceleration values;

detect a first series of zero crossings for the first plurality of jerk values and a second series of zero crossings for the second plurality of jerk values;

when the first series of zero crossing are in phase with the second plurality of zero crossings, provide a seated riding identifier;

when the first series of zero crossing are out of phase with the second plurality of zero crossings,

apply a boundary equation to the first plurality of jerk values and the second plurality of jerk values and cadence, and when the boundary equation

when the moving average of the normalized boundary equation output exceeds a threshold, provide a standing riding identifier.

18. The device of claim 1 further comprising:

the computing unit including computer executable instructions to determine a user'"'"'s speed (running or walking) based on ground contact time comprising;

obtaining a user specific offset for a default regression equation, the regression equation being a function of ground contact time;

obtaining a ground contact time for a user, the ground contact time based on;

the accelerometer configured to generate a set of vertical acceleration values,

obtaining a first set of jerk values for the set of vertical acceleration values;

obtaining a step duration from the first set of jerk values;

identifying a duration of vertical acceleration values above zero representing the time a user is in the air relative to the step duration;

generating a ground contact time from the step duration and the duration of vertical acceleration values above zero; and

applying the ground contact time to the regression equation to provide the user'"'"'s speed.