Control system for health club facilities and equipment

• US 4,831,242 A
• Filed: 09/12/1985
• Issued: 05/16/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Brunswick Corporation
• Original Assignee: Bally Manufacturing Corp. (Park Hotels & Resorts Inc.)
• Inventors: Keane, Martin A., Krch, Russell W., Englehardt, William H., Svilans, Olgerts J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Faber, Alan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Weinhardt, Robert A.
• Application Number:
  US06/775,177
• Time in Patent Office: 1,342 Days
• Field of Search: 235/419, 235/376, 235/377, 235/375, 235/382.5, 235/382, 235/381, 235/380, 340/825.31, 340/825.32, 340/825.24, 340/825.28, 340/323 R, 177/25.19, 364/400, 364/401, 364/402, 364/406, 364/410, 364/413, 364/415
• US Class Current: 235/382
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 482/902 Employing specific graphic or video display

Abstract

A control system for a health club which stores user records including user activity data in order to monitor and control use of the club'"'"'s facilities. A central controller includes a memory for storing the user records including attendance data and accounting data, and a main control which is responsive to the user record data for determining whether a user is authorized to use the club'"'"'s facilities. The central controller is coupled to various club facilities and equipment such as a computerized scale to prevent use thereof if a user is not authorized. The central controller also stores user history data such as user weight data for the computerized scale to alleviate data storage problems.

Claims

1. For use in a health club having facilities including user equipment, a control system for monitoring use of the club facilities comprising:

input means for accepting input data including data identifying a club facility user, user personal data, user accounting data and user activity data;

memory means for storing user records including said user data;

main control means responsive to the input means and the user records stored in said memory means for checking said user personal data, said user accounting data and said user activity data stored in said user records corresponding with data identifying a user received from said input means to determine whether the user is authorized to us the club facilities; and

means responsive to the main control means for preventing use of club facilities if the main control means determines that the user is unauthorized.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said user equipment includes a scale, the control system being coupled to the scale to prevent use of the scale by an unauthorized user.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said user equipment includes an exercise machine, the control system being coupled to the exercise machine to prevent use of the machine by an unauthorized user.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said club facilities include a locker room having a door through which access to the room is gained, the control system being coupled to the door to prevent use of the locker room by an unauthorized user.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said main control means including account determining means responsive to said accounting data for determining whether the user is a paid-up member of the club, a user being authorized if the user is a paid-up member.

6. The system of claim 5 further including means for creating guest record data for non-club members, said main control means being responsive to said guest record data for determining whether the guest is authorized to use the club facilities.

7. For use in a health club, a control system for monitoring user activity comprising:

input means for accepting input data including data identifying a club user, user personal data, user attendance data and user accounting data;

memory means for storing in user records said input data;

means responsive to said input data for displaying said data stored in said user records;

main control means operatively connected to said memory means and responsive to the input means and said input data for checking said user personal data, said user accounting data and said user activity data stored in said user records corresponding with data identifying a user received from said input means to determine whether a user is authorized, not authorized or suspicious wherein said suspicious determination is based on predetermined user attendance criteria, said main control means being coupled to the display means to provide a display of said determination.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the main control means determines a user to be suspicious in response to attendance data showing that the user has used the club a predetermined number of times within a predetermined period of time.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said display means, in response to a determination that a user is suspicious, displays a warning indication and attendance data for the suspicious user.

10. For use in a health club, a control system for a scale to provide weight histories of plural users comprising:

a central controller including;

memory means for storing record data including weight and time data for a plurality of users, us®

r attendance data and user accounting data; and

main control means responsive to the user record data for determining whether a user is authorized to use the scale, the scale including;

input and display means controlled by a user for inputting a user identification and for displaying information to the user;

means for transferring the user identification from the input means to the central controller, said central controller being responsive to the user identification to determine from the user'"'"'s record data including said user accounting data and said activity data stored in said memory means whether the user is authorized and to transfer said user weight and time data to the scale on the transferring means if said user is authorized;

means for providing a signal representative of the current weight of a user; and

scale control means responsive to the user weight and time data transferred to the scale from the central controller and to the current weight signal for controlling the input and display means to display the user'"'"'s weight history.

11. The control system of claim 10 wherein said input and display means displays the data in a line graph format.

12. The control system of claim 10 wherein said input and display means displays the data in a bar graph format.

13. The control system of claim 10 wherein the main memory further stores club information which can be selectively displayed on the input and display means.

14. The control system of claim 10 wherein a user is authorized if the user'"'"'s record data shows that the user is a member of the club in good standing, the system further including means for setting up record data for a guest who is a non-club member to enable the guest to be an authorized user.

15. For use in a health club, a control system for monitoring user activity comprising:

a central controller including memory means for storing user identification and user data for a plurality of users; and

a plurality of health club equipment coupled to the central controller each of said equipment including;

input means controlled by an equipment user for identifying the user;

means responsive to the input means and coupled to the main control means for the central controller for transmitting to central controller the identity of the equipment user and user data generated by said health club equipment to said memory means and receiving from said memory means said user data stored in said memory means for said equipment user; and

means operatively connected to said transmitting means for controlling the operation of the equipment.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the main control means includes means for transferring user data from the memory means to the equipment control means in response to a determination that the equipment user is authorized.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein said equipment is a scale having a display controlled by the equipment control means and the user data includes data representing the weight history of the user which is transferred to the equipment control means to be shown on the display.

18. The system of claim 15 wherein the equipment input means includes means for displaying messages to the user in response to a user input.

19. The system of claim 15 wherein said equipment is exercise equipment.