WAIST MEASURING BELT

• US 20160153853A1
• Filed: 12/01/2014
• Published: 06/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Brenner, Jennifer T., Luk, Bryant Genepang, He, Robert, Das, Ananya, O'Toole, Christopher Diebold, Tang, Yu, Bates, Richard Chapman, Ziaja, Jason
• Granted Patent: US 10,359,327 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A41F 9/002 Free belts
• CPC Class Codes: A41H 1/02 Devices for taking measurements on the human body
• CPC Class Codes: A44B 11/005 Buckles combined with other articles, e.g. with receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0004 characterised by the type of physiological signal transmitted
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/107 Measuring physical dimensions, e.g. size of the entire body or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1072 measuring distances on the body, e.g. measuring length, height or thickness A61B5/1076 takes precedence
• 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: B60N 2/0248 with memory of positions
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 21/02 for measuring length, width, or thickness G01B21/10 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 21/047 Accessories, e.g. for positioning, for tool-setting, for measuring probes
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 3/11 Chains for measuring length
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 5/047 Specific indicating or recording arrangements, e.g. for remote indication, for indicating overload or underload

Abstract

In various example embodiments, devices, systems, and methods for a waist measuring belt are provided. An example waist measuring belt is made up of a belt buckle frame with attachments for a belt strap. The belt further includes a position measuring module coupled to the belt buckle frame that measures an attachment position of a second end of the belt strap to the belt buckle frame. The belt also includes a tension measuring module coupled to the belt buckle frame that measures a tension through the belt buckle frame and the belt strap. A memory and a wireless communication module attached to the belt may be used to store measurements and communicate with a mobile device or server. In various embodiments, estimated user waist sizes over time using measured values and belt-specific data may be used to estimate a user'"'"'s waist size and generate a waist size history.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a belt buckle frame;

a first belt attachment coupled to a first side of the belt buckle frame, the first belt attachment for attaching a first end of a belt strap;

a second belt attachment coupled to a second side of the belt buckle frame opposite the first side of the belt buckle frame and the first belt attachment, the second belt attachment for attaching a second end of the belt strap;

a position measuring module coupled to the belt buckle frame, the position measuring module configured to measure an attachment position of the second end of the belt strap to the belt buckle frame;

a tension measuring module coupled to the belt buckle frame, the tension measuring module configured to measure a tension in the belt buckle frame and the belt strap;

a memory device coupled to the belt buckle frame, the position measuring module, and the tension measuring module; and

a wireless communication module coupled to the memory module, the wireless communication module configured to receive a first tension measurement from the tension measuring module and a first position measurement from the position measuring module, and to communicate the first position measurement and the first tension measurement to a mobile device.

2. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a clock module coupled to the memory device;

an alert module coupled to the memory device; and

one or more processors coupled to the memory device, the processors configured to;

receive, via the wireless communication module, belt information associating a plurality of attachment positions including the first attachment position with a corresponding perimeter of a belt;

generate, using the clock module, the tension measuring module, and the position measuring module, a plurality of estimated waist sizes by determining the corresponding perimeter of the belt associated with an associated plurality of attachment positions and associated tension measurements and adjusting each perimeter of the belt using the associated tension measurement to determine each estimated waist size of the plurality of estimated waist sizes;

determine when a first estimated waist size of the plurality of estimated waist sizes exceeds a threshold; and

initiate an alert indicator at the alert module in response to the determination that the first estimated waist size exceeds the threshold.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the tension measuring module comprises a metal spring and a strain gauge electric circuit that measures a change in electrical resistance within at least a portion of the metal spring based on a tension in the metal spring.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the first belt attachment is coupled to the first end of the belt strap via the tension measuring module such that the tension in the belt strap is equal to the tension in the metal spring.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the position measuring module comprises circuitry that identifies a contact with a contact area of a plurality of contact areas of the belt strap.

6. A method comprising:

measuring, using a tension measuring module, a first tension in a belt strap, wherein the belt strap, a belt buckle frame, and the tension measuring module are all coupled as part of a belt, and wherein the first tension is measured during a first time period;

measuring, using a position measuring module coupled to the belt, a first position where the belt strap connects to the belt buckle frame, wherein the first position is measured during the first time period;

measuring, using the tension measuring module, a second tension in the belt strap during a second time period that is different from the first time period;

measuring, using the position measuring module, a second position where the belt strap connects to the belt buckle frame during the second time period; and

communicating, using a wireless communication module coupled to the belt buckle frame, the first tension, the second tension, the first position, and the second position to a first device.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

determining, using a clock module coupled to the belt buckle frame, a first time associated with the first time period;

determining, using the clock module, a second time associated with the second time period.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

storing, at a memory device coupled to the belt buckle frame, the first time, the first tension, and the first position as a first waist measurement; and

storing, at the memory device, the second time, the second tension, and the second position as a second waist measurement;

wherein communicating the first tension, the second tension, the first position, and the second position to the first device comprises a first communication of the first waist measurement and a second communication of the second waist measurement.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first device comprises a user smartphone.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving, at the user smartphone, the first waist measurement and the second waist measurement; and

relaying, from the user smartphone, the first waist measurement and the second waist measurement to a server computer.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

calculating, at the server computer, a first estimated waist size using the first tension and the first position;

calculating, at the server computer, a second estimated waist size using the second tension and the second position; and

calculating, at the server computer, a change in estimated waist size using the first estimated waist size and the second estimated waist size.

12. The method claim 11, wherein calculating the first estimated waist size comprises:

determining a belt strap length associated with the first position;

determining an adjustment value associated with the first tension in the belt strap; and

determining the first estimated waist sized by adjusting the belt strap length by the adjustment value to determine the first estimated waist size.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first waist measurement further comprises first belt information;

and

wherein determining a belt strap length associated with the first position comprises analyzing the first belt information to determine the belt strap length associated with the first position.

14. The method of claim 6, wherein the first position comprises a distance along the belt strap from a first end of the belt strap that is attached to a first attachment of the belt buckle frame to an adjustable attachment area where a second end of the belt strap is attached to a second attachment of the belt buckle frame.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining that the second estimated waist size is larger than a user threshold waist size value; and

communicating a first alert message to the user smartphone in response to the determination that the second estimated waist size is larger than the user threshold waist size value.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

storing, in a smartphone memory of the user smartphone, a plurality of estimated waist sizes and associated measurement times;

receiving, at an input module of the user smartphone, an input associated with the plurality of estimated waist sizes;

displaying, at an output display of the user smartphone, a chart of estimated waist sizes over time, the chart of estimated waist sizes over time displaying the first estimated waist size at the first time and the second estimated waist size at the second time.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving, at the wireless communication module, prior to communicating the first waist measurement, first belt information, the first belt information associating each of a plurality of attachment positions of the second end of the belt strap to the belt buckle frame to a corresponding perimeter length of the belt for a corresponding attachment position of the plurality of attachment positions.

18. A system comprising:

a belt comprising;

a belt buckle frame;

a strap coupled to the belt buckle frame;

a memory device coupled to the belt buckle frame;

a processor coupled to the memory device and the belt buckle frame;

a wireless interface coupled to the processor and the belt buckle frame;

a battery coupled to the processor, the memory, and the belt buckle frame;

means for determining a tension in the belt;

means for adjusting a position at which the strap is attached to the belt buckle frame; and

means for electronically determining the position at which the strap is attached to the belt buckle frame.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising:

a smartphone configured to;

receive a plurality of waist measurements from the belt, each waist measurement having been determined from a position measurement and a tension measurement performed by the belt and each waist measurement further having an associated time;

store the plurality of waist measurements in a smartphone memory; and

display a chart of the plurality of waist measurements from the belt with the associated time for each waist measurement.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising:

a server computer communicatively coupled to the smartphone, wherein the server computer is configured to;

receive the plurality of waist measurements from the smartphone;

store the plurality of waist measurements in a server memory; and

communicate the plurality of waist measurements to a second user device in response to receipt of a user communication associated with the plurality of waist measurements.