Portable monitoring devices for processing applications and processing analysis of physiological conditions of a user associated with the portable monitoring device

• US 9,241,635 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2014
• Issued: 01/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fitbit, Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Fitbit, Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Yuen, Shelten Gee Jao, Park, James, Friedman, Eric Nathan, Martinez, Mark Manuel, Axely, Andrew Cole
• Primary Examiner(s): Raymond, Edward
• Application Number:
  US14/156,413
• Publication Number:
  US 20140135612A1
• Time in Patent Office: 741 Days
• Field of Search: 702/160, 702/150, 702/155, 702182-185, 702/188
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0214 of power generation or supply
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0242 adapted to measure environmental factors, e.g. temperature, pollution
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0059 using light, e.g. diagnosis by transillumination, diascopy, fluorescence A61B5/0093, A61B5/1455, A61B5/02416 and A61B5/0261 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• 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 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02405 Determining heart rate variability
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02416 using photoplethysmograph signals, e.g. generated by infrared radiation A61B5/14552 takes precedence
• 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 5/222 combined with detection or measurement of physiological parameters, e.g. heart rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/441 Skin evaluation, e.g. for skin disorder diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4809 Sleep detection, i.e. determining whether a subject is asleep or not
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4812 Detecting sleep stages or cycles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4815 Sleep quality
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/681 Wristwatch-type devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6838 : Clamps or clips
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7264 : Classification of physiological signals or data, e.g. using neural networks, statistical classifiers, expert systems or fuzzy systems neural networks per se G06N3/00; expert systems per se G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/743 : Displaying an image simultaneously with additional graphical information, e.g. symbols, charts, function plots
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/006 : Pedometers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 : relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 : for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 : for remote operation

Abstract

An activity monitoring device and associated methods for using and interfacing with the activity monitoring device are provided. In one example, the activity monitoring device includes a housing configured for attachment to a body part of a user. Also included ins a display screen attached to the housing and a sensor for capturing physiological conditions of the user. The sensor is disposed along a surface of the housing so that the sensor is proximate to the body part, the body part having at least some exposed skin. The activity monitoring device also includes memory for storing the captured physiological conditions, and a processor for examining the captured physiological conditions. At a particular time, the processor automatically selects an application to execute from a plurality of applications based on characteristics of the captured physiological conditions.

Claims

1. An activity monitoring device, comprising,

a housing configured for attachment to a body part of a user;

a display screen attached to the housing;

a sensor for capturing physiological conditions of the user, the sensor being disposed along a surface of the housing so that the sensor is proximate to the body part, the body part having at least some exposed skin;

memory for storing the captured physiological conditions; and

a processor for examining the captured physiological conditions, and at a particular time, automatically selecting an application to execute from a plurality of applications based on characteristics of the captured physiological conditions;

wherein the plurality of applications are stored in memory of the activity monitoring device and the processor executes instructions for the automatic selection of the application,

wherein the processor selects one of a plurality of applications including a watch function, or a pedometer function, or a communication function, or a biometric analysis function, or a sleep tracking function, or a calendar function, or an environmental analysis function, or a geo-location function, or a mapping function, or a heart rate analysis function, or a sedentary tracking function, or a motion data analysis function, or a combination of two or more thereof.

2. The activity monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the sensor includes a plurality of light emitting devices and at least one detector.

3. The activity monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the captured physiological conditions include a heart rate of the user.

4. The activity monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the sensor includes a plurality of light emitting devices (LEDs) and at least one detector, wherein the LEDs are directed toward the exposed skin of the user.

5. The activity monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the housing includes a band for enabling the attachment to the body part of the user.

6. The activity monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the housing includes a wrist band and the body part of the user includes a wrist of the user, and the surface of the housing is configured to be proximate to the skin of the user.

7. The activity monitoring device of claim 1, further comprising, an environmental sensor for capturing environment data, the processor configured to execute the automatic selection additionally based on based on the environment data.

8. The activity monitoring device of claim 1, wherein automatically selecting the application to execute causes data to be processed and stored in the memory and/or data to be displayed on the display screen.

9. The activity monitoring device of claim 1, wherein automatically selecting the application to execute includes launching a specific functionality provided by the selected application.

10. The activity monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to automatically close the application in response to examining the physiological conditions and environmental conditions.

11. The activity monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to set one or more modes of one or more applications of the activity monitoring device based on examination of the physiological conditions and/or environmental conditions.

12. An activity monitoring device, comprising, a wrist band;

a display screen disposed on a housing, the wrist band being coupled to the housing;

a sensor disposed in the housing to capture data associated with a user;

memory disposed in the housing for storing the captured data and for storing one or more applications; and

a processor in communication with the housing and the display screen, the processor configured to automatically select for execution execute the one or more applications of a plurality of applications for rendering to render content associated with the one or more applications on the display screen, at least one of the applications being configured to present metrics regarding the captured data of the sensor, the captured data including one of motion data by the user, environmental data, biometric data of the user, or combinations of two or more thereof, the processor enabling user access to the one or more applications wherein the plurality of applications are stored in memory of the activity monitoring device and the processor executes instructions for the automatic selection of the application,

wherein the processor selects one of a plurality of applications including a watch function, or a pedometer function, or a communication function, or a biometric analysis function, or a sleep tracking function, or a calendar function, or an environmental analysis function, or a geo-location function, or a mapping function, or a heart rate analysis function, or a sedentary tracking function, or a motion data analysis function, or a combination of two or more thereof; and

wherein the processor is configured to cause rendering of a user interface on the display screen wherein the automatic selection is based on characteristics of the captured data.

13. An activity monitoring device of claim 12, wherein one of the applications provides a watch function, a pedometer function, a communication function, a biometric analysis function, an environmental conditions analysis function, a motion data analysis function, or combinations thereof.

14. The activity monitoring device of claim 12, wherein the sensor includes a plurality of light emitting devices and at least one detector.

15. The activity monitoring device of claim 12, wherein the biometric data provides at least one physiological condition of the user.

16. The activity monitoring device of claim 15, wherein the physiological condition is a heart rate of the user.

17. The activity monitoring device of claim 12, wherein the sensor includes a plurality of light emitting devices (LEDs) and at least one detector, wherein the LEDs are directed toward the exposed skin of the user.