Portable biometric monitoring devices having location sensors

• US 9,297,903 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2014
• Issued: 03/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fitbit, Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Fitbit, Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Park, James, Panther, Heiko Gernot Albert, Yuen, Shelten Gee Jao
• Primary Examiner(s): McGue, Frank J
• Application Number:
  US14/265,205
• Publication Number:
  US 20140292566A1
• Time in Patent Office: 700 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.2, 342/357.25, 342/257.2
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/05 providing aiding data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/09 providing processing capability normally carried out by the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/19 Sporting applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/258 relating to the satellite constellation, e.g. almanac, ephemeris data, lists of satellites in view
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/27 creating, predicting or correcting ephemeris or almanac data within the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/42 Determining position
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18513 Transmission in a satellite or space-based system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/651 for reducing power consumption by affecting camera operations, e.g. sleep mode, hibernation mode or power off of selective parts of the camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Assisted-GPS for a portable biometric monitoring device is provided. The portable biometric monitoring device may obtain updated ephemeris data from an associated secondary device via a short-range, low-power communication protocol. The secondary device may be a computing device such as a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Various rules may control when the ephemeris data is updated. The ephemeris data may be used in the calculation of the global position of the portable biometric monitoring device. Additionally, the portable biometric monitoring device may communicate downloaded position fixing data to the associated secondary device. The associated secondary device may then calculate the global position from the position fixing data.

Claims

1. A method of determining a global position of a worn biometric monitoring device comprising a navigation data receiver, a controller with a processing unit and a memory, and a motion-detecting sensor, the method comprising:

(a) determining that the worn biometric monitoring device has moved after the worn biometric monitoring device has been substantially stationary;

(b) determining that the worn biometric monitoring device does not have stored updated ephemeris data;

(c) determining that the processing unit has a spare processing ability exceeding a threshold processing ability; and

(d) in response to determining that an ephemeris data update condition is met based on each of the determinations made in (a), (b), and (c), obtaining updated ephemeris data via a wireless communication protocol from a secondary device associated with the worn biometric monitoring device.

2. The method of claim 1:

wherein the motion-detecting sensor is an accelerometer configured to detect acceleration of the worn biometric monitoring device; and

wherein determining that the worn biometric monitoring device has moved comprises detecting an acceleration greater than a threshold value of acceleration.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the threshold value of acceleration is acceleration of the worn biometric monitoring device greater than 3 m/s^2.

4. The method of claim 1:

wherein the motion-detecting sensor is a gyroscope configured to detect a change in orientation of the worn biometric monitoring device; and

wherein determining that the worn biometric monitoring device has moved comprises detecting a change in orientation of the worn biometric monitoring device.

5. The method of claim 1:

wherein the motion-detecting sensor is an altitude sensor configured to detect a change in altitude of the worn biometric monitoring device; and

wherein determining that the worn biometric monitoring device has moved comprises detecting a change in altitude of the worn biometric monitoring device.

6. The method of claim 1:

wherein the motion-detecting sensor is a light sensor configured to detect UV light; and

wherein determining that the ephemeris data update condition is met further comprises sensing, with the light sensor, the presence of UV light.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(e) calculating the global position of the worn biometric monitoring device using the ephemeris data obtained from the associated secondary device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the global position of the worn biometric monitoring device is calculated by the secondary device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the motion-detecting sensor is a sensor selected from the group consisting of:

an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, an altitude sensor, a user interface, an environmental sensor, a light sensor, a pedometer, and a global position sensor.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the associated secondary device determines, at least in part, whether the ephemeris data update condition is met.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the worn biometric monitoring device further comprises a user interface, and wherein the determining that the ephemeris data update condition is met further comprises detecting that a user is interacting with the user interface.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that the ephemeris data update condition is met further comprises detecting an activation of a tracking mode of the worn biometric monitoring device by a user.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining updated ephemeris data, at the secondary device, from an Earth-based organization providing ephemeris data.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining a protocol of updated ephemeris data to obtain, wherein the protocol of updated ephemeris data is selected from the group consisting of 3gpp, Open Mobile Alliance, Secure User Plane Location V1.0, and Secure User Plane Location V2.0.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining, at the secondary device, whether to obtain some or all of the updated ephemeris data available from the Earth-based organization providing ephemeris data.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to obtaining updated ephemeris data from the associated secondary device, determining whether to obtain some or all of the updated ephemeris data available on the secondary device.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein (b) comprises determining that a time threshold for updating the ephemeris data has been exceeded.

18. A method of facilitating determination of a global position of a worn biometric monitoring device comprising a navigation data receiver, a motion-detecting sensor, a battery, and a controller with a processing unit and a memory, the method comprising:

(a) determining that the controller has a spare processing ability exceeding a threshold processing ability;

(b) determining that (i) the worn biometric monitoring device has a wireless connection with a secondary device exceeding a threshold connection strength, and/or (ii) the battery has a battery charge level exceeding a battery charge threshold; and

(c) in response to determining that an ephemeris data update condition is met based on both of the determinations made in (a) and (b), obtaining updated ephemeris data via a wireless short-range, low-power communication protocol from the secondary device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the secondary device determines, at least in part, whether the ephemeris data update condition is met.

20. A wearable biometric monitoring device, the wearable biometric monitoring device comprising:

a motion-detecting sensor configured to detect motion of the wearable biometric monitoring device and output motion data to a controller;

communication circuitry, the communication circuitry configured to receive data from a secondary device associated with the wearable biometric monitoring device via a wireless communication protocol and output data to the controller; and

the controller with one or more processors and a memory, wherein the one or more processors, the memory, the motion-detecting sensor, and the communication circuitry, are communicatively connected and the memory is configured to store program instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to;

(a) determine that the worn biometric monitoring device has moved after the worn biometric monitoring device has been substantially stationary;

(b) determine that the worn biometric monitoring device does not have stored updated ephemeris data;

(c) determine that the controller has a spare processing ability exceeding a threshold processing ability; and

(d) in response to a determination that an ephemeris data update condition is met based on each of the determinations made in (a), (b), and (c), obtain updated ephemeris data via the wireless communication protocol from a secondary device associated with the wearable biometric monitoring device.

21. The wearable biometric monitoring device of claim 20, further comprising program instructions for controlling the one or more processors to:

(e) calculate a global position of the wearable biometric monitoring device using the updated ephemeris data obtained from the associated secondary device.

22. The wearable biometric monitoring device of claim 21, wherein the global position of the worn biometric monitoring device is calculated by the secondary device.

23. The wearable biometric monitoring device of claim 20, wherein the motion-detecting sensor is selected from the group consisting of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, an altitude sensor, a user interface, an environmental sensor, a light sensor, a pedometer, and a global position sensor.

24. The wearable biometric monitoring device of claim 20, wherein the motion-detecting sensor is an accelerometer configured to detect acceleration of the wearable biometric monitoring device and output acceleration data to the controller, and wherein the program instructions for (a) comprise instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to detect an acceleration greater than a threshold value of acceleration from the acceleration data.

25. The wearable biometric monitoring device of claim 24, wherein the threshold value of acceleration is acceleration of the worn biometric monitoring device greater than 3 m/s^2.

26. The wearable biometric monitoring device of claim 20, further comprising a gyroscope configured to detect a change in orientation of the wearable biometric monitoring device and output orientation data to the controller, wherein the program instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine that the ephemeris data update condition is met further comprise instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to detect a change in orientation from the orientation data.

27. The wearable biometric monitoring device of claim 20, further comprising an altitude sensor configured to detect a change in altitude of the wearable biometric monitoring device and output altitude data to the controller, wherein the program instructions for determining that an ephemeris data update condition is met further comprise instructions for detecting a change in altitude from the altitude data.

28. The wearable biometric monitoring device of claim 20, further comprising a light sensor configured to detect UV light and output light data to the controller, wherein the program instructions further comprise instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to sense a presence of UV light from the light data, and the ephemeris data update condition being met is further based on the presence of UV light from the light data being sensed by the light sensor.

29. The wearable biometric monitoring device of claim 20, further comprising a user interface configured to interact with a user, wherein the program instructions further comprise instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to detect user interaction with the user interface, and the ephemeris data update condition being met is further based on the user interaction being detected.

30. The wearable biometric monitoring device of claim 20, wherein the program instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to obtain updated ephemeris data from the associated secondary device further comprise instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to determine whether to obtain some or all of the updated ephemeris data available on the secondary device.

31. A wearable biometric monitoring device, the wearable biometric monitoring device comprising:

a motion-detecting sensor configured to detect motion of the wearable biometric monitoring device and output motion data to a controller;

a battery;

communication circuitry, the communication circuitry configured to receive data from a secondary device associated with the wearable biometric monitoring device via a wireless communication protocol and output data to the controller; and

the controller with one or more processors and a memory, wherein the one or more processors, the memory, the motion-detecting sensor, and the communication circuitry are communicatively connected and the memory is configured to store program instructions for controlling the one or more processors to;

(a) determine that the controller has spare processing ability exceeding a threshold processing ability;

(b) determine that (i) the worn biometric monitoring device has a wireless connection with the secondary device exceeding a threshold connection strength, and/or (ii) the battery has a battery charge level exceeding a battery charge threshold; and

(c) in response to determining that an ephemeris data update condition is met based on both of the determinations made in (a) and (b), obtain updated ephemeris data via the wireless communication protocol from the secondary device associated with the worn biometric monitoring device.

32. The wearable biometric monitoring device of claim 31, further comprising a user interface configured to interact with a user, wherein the program instructions further comprise instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to detect user interaction with the user interface and the ephemeris data update condition being met is further based on the user interaction being detected.

33. The wearable biometric monitoring device of claim 31, wherein the ephemeris data update condition being met is further based on a detection of an activation of a tracking mode of the wearable biometric monitoring device.