Training apparatus for guiding user to improve fitness

• US 9,433,823 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2013
• Issued: 09/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Polar Electro Oy
• Original Assignee: Polar Electro Oy
• Inventors: Erkkila, Mika
• Primary Examiner(s): Frisby, Kesha
• Application Number:
  US13/756,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20130236868A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,313 Days
• Field of Search: 434/247
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0062 Monitoring athletic performances, e.g. for determining the work of a user on an exercise apparatus, the completed jogging or cycling distance
• 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

Abstract

A processing system includes a memory storing tasks that define a physical exercise and a target value. The tasks are divided into categories of training requirements, and each category is linked to a progress status indicator. The processing system determines a progress status and retrieves a task from a category corresponding to the progress status; instructs the user to carry out a physical exercise; acquires measurement data generated during physical exercise; compares information acquired from the measurement data with the target value. Upon determining, on the basis of the comparison that the user reached the target value, the processing system stores a task indicator to indicate that the task was completed the progress status of the user has increased sufficiently as a result of completing the task, the processing system raises the progress status of the user, and retrieves a subsequent task.

Claims

1. A personal training device that monitors a user'"'"'s progress status in relation to at least one target value associated with physical exercise and outputs an instruction to the user regarding attaining the at least one target value , the personal training device comprising:

at least one memory device storing a set of tasks, wherein each task defines the physical exercise and the at least one target value for the physical exercise, wherein the tasks are divided into a plurality of categories in an order of increasing training requirements, each category being associated with a plurality of tasks, and wherein each category is linked to a unique progress status indicator representing the training requirements; and

at least one processing circuitry, wherein the at least one memory device and the at least one processing circuitry are configured to cause the personal training device to perform operations comprising;

determining the progress status of the user,

determining whether a sensor is currently connected to the processing circuitry to determine a type of measurement data the processing system is currently able to acquire;

retrieving from the memory device at least one task from a category associated with a progress status indicator corresponding to said progress status of the user, the retrieved at least one task being selected based on a criterion, the criterion requiring that the selected at least one task have a target value measurable using the sensor that was determined to be currently connected to the processing circuitry, wherein said selection based on the criterion comprises excluding at least one task of the set of tasks that has a target value measurable with no sensor currently connected to the processing circuitry;

outputting an instruction to the user to perform the retrieved at least one task;

acquiring measurement data generated during said physical exercise using the sensor that was determined to be currently connected to the processing circuitry;

comparing information acquired from the measurement data with the at least one target value associated with the instructed physical exercise;

upon determining on the basis of the comparison that the user has reached the at least one target value, storing in the memory device a task indicator to indicate that the task has been completed;

determining that the progress status of the user has increased sufficiently as a result of completing the task;

increasing the progress status of the user; and

outputting the progress status to the user.

2. The personal training device of claim 1, wherein the memory device stores a plurality of tasks for each category, and wherein the apparatus is configured to raise the progress status of the user when a plurality of tasks associated with the current progress status have been completed.

3. The personal training device of claim 2, wherein the at least one memory device and the at least one processing circuitry are configured to cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:

retrieving from the memory device the plurality of tasks from the category associated with said determined progress status of the user and presenting the tasks to the user via a user interface;

receiving a user input indicating selection of one of the plurality of tasks presented to the user;

providing the user with instructions and the at least one target value related the task through the user interface.

4. The personal training device of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory device and the at least one processing circuitry are configured to cause the processing system to eliminate from the selection at least one task for which no valid measurement data is available.

5. The personal training device of claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured to randomly select the task or tasks of a subset to be retrieved from the memory device.

6. The personal training device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the tasks comprises a plurality of physical exercises and at least one target value for each of the plurality of exercises.

7. The personal training device of claim 6, wherein the plurality of physical exercises comprised in the same task relate to different physical exercise types.

8. The personal training device of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory device and the at least one processing circuitry are configured to cause the processing system to perform operations comprising:

determining whether or not the measurement data indicates that at least one target value of the physical exercise has been exceeded by a determined amount during the physical exercise; and

upon determining that the at least one target value has been exceeded by the determined amount, raising the progress status of the user by at least two categories.

9. The personal training device of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory device and the at least one processing circuitry are configured to cause the processing system to determine that the user has not completed one or more tasks on the current progress status of the user within a determined time period and, as a result, lower the progress status of the user and store the lowered progress status of the user in the memory device.

10. The personal training device of claim 1, wherein the set of tasks define at least one of the following physical exercises:

walking, running, cycling, swimming, skiing, losing calories in a user-selectable activity, raising heart rate in a user-selectable activity, play a determined sports type, carrying out a fitness test, and resting.

11. The personal training device of claim 1, wherein the training requirements are increased between categories according to at least one of the following options:

increasing a duration of the physical exercise, increasing the distance of the physical exercise, increasing heart rate requirements of the physical exercise, increasing the number of physical exercises included in a task, increasing the amount of calories to lose during the physical exercise, increasing training intensity of the physical exercise by reducing the time in which the user has to carry out the physical exercise, increasing the number of tasks that has to be completed before increasing the progress status, and increasing the number of physical exercises that must be carried out discontinuously to complete a task.