Monitoring activity of a user in locomotion on foot

• US 7,962,312 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2009
• Issued: 06/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Inventors: Blackadar, Thomas P., Darley, Jesse
• Primary Examiner(s): Dunn; Drew A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vo; Hien X
• Application Number:
  US12/571,392
• Publication Number:
  US 20100057398A1
• Time in Patent Office: 622 Days
• Field of Search: 702/165, 702/142, 702/158, 702/178, 702/160, 702/144, 702/176, 324/160, 735/97
• US Class Current: 702/165
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 23/24 Ornamental buckles; Other ornaments for shoes without fastening function
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 3/0031 provided with a pocket, e.g. for keys or a card
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 3/0078 provided with logos, letters, signatures or the like decoration A43B23/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 3/34 with electrical or electronic arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/10 Athletes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0223 of calibration, e.g. protocols for calibrating sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/08 Sensors provided with means for identification, e.g. barcodes or memory chips
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0205 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02438 with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1038 Measuring plantar pressure during gait
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1112 Global tracking of patients, e.g. by using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/112 Gait analysis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/486 Bio-feedback A61B5/375 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4866 Evaluating metabolism A61B5/083 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6807 Footwear
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/681 Wristwatch-type devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6831 Straps, bands or harnesses
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6895 Sport equipment
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7246 : using correlation, e.g. template matching or determination of similarity
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/725 : using specific filters therefor, e.g. Kalman or adaptive filters A61B5/316 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7278 : Artificial waveform generation or derivation, e.g. synthesising signals from measured signals A61B5/327 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/742 : using visual displays A61B5/339 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/743 : Displaying an image simultaneously with additional graphical information, e.g. symbols, charts, function plots
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7475 : User input or interface means, e.g. keyboard, pointing device, joystick
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0065 : Evaluating the fitness, e.g. fitness level or fitness index
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/17 : Counting, e.g. counting periodical movements, revolutions or cycles, or including further data processing to determine distances or speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/02 : Testing, calibrating or measuring of equipment
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/0028 : for running, jogging or speed-walking movable endless bands A63B22/02
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/006 : Pedometers
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/02827 : Elastic parameters, strength or force
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 1/023 : for acceleration measuring devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/08 : with conversion into electric or magnetic values
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/0922 : of the bending or flexing mode type
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/025 : for measuring physiological data
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 : relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising

Abstract

A method involves using at least one device supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing to automatically measure amounts of time taken by the user to complete respective distance intervals. During the outing, data representing the automatically measured amounts of time may be automatically stored in memory of the least one device. Another method involves using at least one device supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing to automatically identify occasions on which a user completes respective distance intervals.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one device configured to be supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing;

a processor configured to automatically identify occasions on which the user completes respective distance intervals, wherein data used to identify the occasions is entirely generated by the at least one device; and

a display coupled to the at least one device, wherein the display is configured to display, during the outing, at least one of an average pace of the user since a most recently completed distance interval, an average speed of the user since the most recently completed distance interval, and a projected time to complete a current distance interval based on monitored performance since the most recently completed distance interval.

2. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one device configured to be supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing;

a processor configured to automatically identify occasions on which the user completes respective distance intervals, wherein data used to identify the occasions is entirely generated by the at least one device; and

a display coupled to the at least one device, wherein the display is configured to automatically display, during the outing, at least one of an average pace of the user since a most recently completed distance interval, an average speed of the user since the most recently completed distance interval, and a projected time to complete a current distance interval based on monitored performance since the most recently completed distance interval.

3. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one device configured to be supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing;

a processor configured to automatically identify occasions on which the user completes respective distance intervals, wherein data used to identify the occasions is entirely generated by the at least one device; and

a display coupled to the at least one device, wherein the display is configured to automatically display, during the outing, at least one of an average pace of the user since a most recently completed distance interval and an average speed of the user since the most recently completed distance interval.

4. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one device configured to be supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing;

a processor configured to automatically identify occasions on which the user completes respective distance intervals, wherein data used to identify the occasions is entirely generated by the at least one device; and

a display coupled to the at least one device, wherein the display is configured to display, during the outing, a projected time to complete the current distance interval based on monitored performance since the most recently completed distance interval.

5. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one device configured to be supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing, wherein the at least one device is configured to receive an input that specifies a goal distance for the outing;

a processor configured to monitor a distance traveled by the user, wherein data used to monitor the distance is entirely generated by the at least one device, and wherein the processor is also configured to determine a remaining distance to be traveled to complete at least one of the specified goal distance for the outing and a calculated fraction of the specified goal distance for the outing; and

a display coupled to the at least one device, wherein the display is configured to display, during the outing, the remaining distance to be traveled to complete the specified goal distance for the outing.

6. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one device configured to be supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing, wherein the at least one device is configured to receive an input that specifies a goal distance for the outing;

a processor configured to monitor a distance traveled by the user, wherein data used to monitor the distance is entirely generated by the at least one device, and wherein the processor is also configured to determine a remaining distance to be traveled to complete at least one of the specified goal distance for the outing and a calculated fraction of the specified goal distance for the outing; and

a display coupled to the at least one device, wherein the display is configured to display, during the outing, the remaining distance to be traveled to complete the calculated fraction of the specified goal distance for the outing.

7. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one device configured to be supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing;

a processor configured to automatically identify occasions on which the user completes respective distance intervals, wherein data used to identify the occasions is entirely generated by the at least one device; and

an output coupled to the at least one device, wherein the output is configured to output, during the outing, at least one of an average pace of the user since a most recently completed distance interval, an average speed of the user since the most recently completed distance interval, and a projected time to complete a current distance interval based on monitored performance since the most recently completed distance interval.

8. The apparatus as recited in claim 7, wherein the output includes an audio output.

9. The apparatus as recited in claim 7, wherein the output includes at least one of at least one audio indicator, at least one visual indicator, and at least one physical indicator.

10. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one device configured to be supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing;

a processor configured to automatically identify occasions on which the user completes respective distance intervals, wherein data used to identify the occasions is entirely generated by the at least one device; and

an output coupled to the at least one device, wherein the output is configured to automatically output, during the outing, at least one of an average pace of the user since a most recently completed distance interval, an average speed of the user since the most recently completed distance interval, and a projected time to complete a current distance interval based on monitored performance since the most recently completed distance interval.

11. The apparatus as recited in claim 10, wherein the output includes an audio output.

12. The apparatus as recited in claim 10, wherein the output includes at least one of at least one audio indicator, at least one visual indicator, and at least one physical indicator.

13. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one device configured to be supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing;

a processor configured to automatically identify occasions on which the user completes respective distance intervals, wherein data used to identify the occasions is entirely generated by the at least one device; and

an output coupled to the at least one device, wherein the output is configured to automatically output, during the outing, at least one of an average pace of the user since a most recently completed distance interval and an average speed of the user since the most recently completed distance interval.

14. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one device configured to be supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing;

a processor configured to automatically identify occasions on which the user completes respective distance intervals, wherein data used to identify the occasions is entirely generated by the at least one device; and

an output coupled to the at least one device, wherein the output is configured to output, during the outing, a projected time to complete the current distance interval based on monitored performance since the most recently completed distance interval.

15. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one device configured to be supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing, wherein the at least one device is configured to receive an input to that specifies a goal distance for the outing;

a processor configured to monitor a distance traveled by the user, wherein data used to monitor the distance is entirely generated by the at least one device, and wherein the processor is also configured to determine a remaining distance to be traveled to complete at least one of the specified goal distance for the outing and a calculated fraction of the specified goal distance for the outing; and

an output coupled to the at least one device, wherein the output is configured to output, during the outing, the remaining distance to be traveled to complete the specified goal distance for the outing.

16. The apparatus as recited in claim 15, wherein the output includes an audio output.

17. The apparatus as recited in claim 15, wherein the output includes at least one of at least one audio indicator, at least one visual indicator, and at least one physical indicator.

18. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one device configured to be supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing, wherein the at least one device is configured to receive an input that specifies a goal distance for the outing;

a processor configured to monitor a distance traveled by the user, wherein data used to monitor the distance is entirely generated by the at least one device, and wherein the processor is also configured to determine a remaining distance to be traveled to complete at least one of the specified goal distance for the outing and a calculated fraction of the specified goal distance for the outing; and

an output coupled to the at least one device, wherein the output is configured to output, during the outing, the remaining distance to be traveled to complete the calculated fraction of the specified goal distance for the outing.

19. The apparatus as recited in claim 18, wherein the output includes an audio output.

20. The apparatus as recited in claim 18, wherein the output includes at least one of at least one audio indicator, at least one visual indicator, and at least one physical indicator.

21. A method, comprising:

with at least one device supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing, automatically identifying occasions on which the user completes respective distance intervals, wherein data used to identify the occasions is entirely generated by the at least one device supported by the user; and

during the outing, outputting with the at least one device at least one of an average pace of the user since a most recently completed distance interval, an average speed of the user since the most recently complete distance interval, and a projected time to complete a current distance interval based on monitored performance since the most recently completed distance interval.

22. The method as recited in claim 21, wherein the output includes an audio output.

23. The method as recited in claim 21, wherein the output includes at least one of at least one audio indicator, at least one visual indicator, and at least one physical indicator.

24. A method, comprising:

with at least one device supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing, automatically identifying occasions on which the user completes respective distance intervals, wherein data used to identify the occasions is entirely generated by the at least one device supported by the user; and

during the outing, automatically outputting with the at least one device at least one of an average pace of the user since a most recently completed distance interval, an average speed of the user since the most recently completed distance interval, and a projected time to complete a current distance interval based on monitored performance since the most recently completed distance interval.

25. The method as recited in claim 24, wherein the output includes an audio output.

26. The method as recited in claim 24, wherein the output includes at least one of at least one audio indicator, at least one visual indicator, and at least one physical indicator.

27. A method, comprising:

with at least one device supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing, automatically identifying occasions on which the user completes respective distance intervals, wherein data used to identify the occasions is entirely generated by the at least one device supported by the user; and

during the outing, outputting with the at least one device at least one of an average pace of the user since a most recently completed distance interval and an average speed of the user since the most recently completed distance interval.

28. A method, comprising:

with at least one device supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing, automatically identifying occasions on which the user completes respective distance intervals, wherein data used to identify the occasions is entirely generated by the at least one device supported by the user; and

during the outing, outputting with the at least one device a projected time to complete the current distance interval based on monitored performance since the most recently completed distance interval.

29. A method, comprising:

with at least one device supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing, monitoring a distance traveled by the user, wherein data used to monitor the distance is entirely generated by the at least one device supported by the user;

receiving an input to the at least one device that specifies a goal distance for the outing;

determining with the at least one device a remaining distance to be traveled to complete at least one of the specified goal distance for the outing and a calculated fraction of the specified goal distance for the outing; and

outputting with the at least one device the remaining distance to be traveled to complete the specified goal distance for the outing.

30. The method as recited in claim 29, wherein the output includes an audio output.

31. The method as recited in claim 29, wherein the output includes at least one of at least one audio indicator, at least one visual indicator, and at least one physical indicator.

32. A method, comprising:

with at least one device supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing, monitoring a distance traveled by the user, wherein data used to monitor the distance is entirely generated by the at least one device supported by the user;

receiving an input to the at least one device that specifies a goal distance for the outing;

determining with the at least one device a remaining distance to be traveled to complete at least one of the specified goal distance for the outing and a calculated fraction of the specified goal distance for the outing; and

outputting with the at least one device the remaining distance to be traveled to complete the calculated fraction of the specified goal distance for the outing.

33. The method as recited in claim 32, wherein the output includes an audio output.

34. The method as recited in claim 32, wherein the output includes at least one of at least one audio indicator, at least one visual indicator, and at least one physical indicator.