Free-weight exercise monitoring and feedback system and method
First Claim
1. A system for gathering exercise parameter data during the performance of a free-weight lifting exercise comprising:
- one or more portable elongated housings each supporting a plurality of aligned pairs of electromagnetic wave emitters and mating electromagnetic wave detectors mounted in said housing in a side by side relationship, electromagnetic waves produced by the emitters forming a light curtain;
a free weight barbell support structure having at least one vertical upright support, said vertical support structure supporting a barbell physically unconnected to said barbell support structure;
a means for removably connecting said one or more portable elongated housings to said vertical upright support in an operative position with a light curtain being projected by said emitters substantially in a horizontal plane and perpendicularly through the vertical range of motion of concentric and eccentric repetitions through which said barbell moves during performance of an exercise routine by an exerciser, whereby interruption of the wave emitted from each of said wave emitters and reflected off a surface of said barbell when moved by an exerciser into the path of said waves is record by each of said mating wave detector;
electronic means for gathering and converting information collected by said detectors into exercise parameter data as well as for storing said data; and
a display panel for displaying said data;
wherein said waves are emitted in a diffuse pattern to prevent said detectors from detecting waves produced by adjacent wave emitters.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An exercise data collection system and method of collection of data concerning the performance of weightlifters and the like which can be retrofitted for use with a power rack or half rack used by weightlifters and detached after use or alternatively set up in a freestanding arrangement, such as for use on a platform, in which by emitted electromagnetic radiation coupled detectors the movements of a barbell past such emitters is detected by the reflected emission and the speed of passage calculated by determining the interval between reflection of the detector beams between adjacent detectors, the height of such reflection beam being related to the portion of the musculature of the weightlifter that is undergoing extension or retraction during exercise.
94 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A system for gathering exercise parameter data during the performance of a free-weight lifting exercise comprising:
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one or more portable elongated housings each supporting a plurality of aligned pairs of electromagnetic wave emitters and mating electromagnetic wave detectors mounted in said housing in a side by side relationship, electromagnetic waves produced by the emitters forming a light curtain; a free weight barbell support structure having at least one vertical upright support, said vertical support structure supporting a barbell physically unconnected to said barbell support structure; a means for removably connecting said one or more portable elongated housings to said vertical upright support in an operative position with a light curtain being projected by said emitters substantially in a horizontal plane and perpendicularly through the vertical range of motion of concentric and eccentric repetitions through which said barbell moves during performance of an exercise routine by an exerciser, whereby interruption of the wave emitted from each of said wave emitters and reflected off a surface of said barbell when moved by an exerciser into the path of said waves is record by each of said mating wave detector; electronic means for gathering and converting information collected by said detectors into exercise parameter data as well as for storing said data; and a display panel for displaying said data; wherein said waves are emitted in a diffuse pattern to prevent said detectors from detecting waves produced by adjacent wave emitters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of gathering weightlifting data and improving weightlifting performance by means of an electronic movement detector system comprising a series of spaced pairs of electromagnetic wave emitters and electromagnetic wave detectors housed in a common channel member, the pairs of emitters and detectors being coordinated with each other and electronically connected to a microprocessor and display panel comprising:
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(a) moving the system components of the electronic movement detector system to a free-weight exercise site, and securing and aligning the channel member with the wave emitters directed so that the emitted waves are directed horizontally and will intersect only the path of travel of a barbell physically unconnected to a barbell support structure as it is moved vertically through a range of motion during performance of a free-weight lifting exercise; (b) commencing a data gathering session by operating the electronic movement detector system while a weightlifter is performing a free-weight lifting exercise with a section of the barbell passing through the emitted waves as many times as the free-weight lifting exercise is performed, which passage causes the waves to be reflected off a surface of the barbell and detected by the corresponding detector pair; (c) ending said data gathering session and operating the electronic movement detector system using collected data from said data gathering session to calculate various exercise parameters including the velocity, power, acceleration, deceleration, and rapidity of movement of the barbell based upon said data of the movements of the barbell as the weightlifter performs free-weight lifting exercises, and calculating anatomical data of the weightlifters body based upon said data provided by the height and rapidity of the reflections of the waves; and (d) displaying the results of such calculations on the electronic display means. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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Specification