Tracking activity data between wearable devices paired with a companion device

• US 9,866,671 B1
• Filed: 06/21/2016
• Issued: 01/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Thompson, Aaron P., Drell, Brian R., Shortlidge, Todd A.
• Primary Examiner(s): DEAN, RAYMOND S
• Application Number:
  US15/188,054
• Publication Number:
  US 20170366655A1
• Time in Patent Office: 567 Days
• Field of Search: 4555561, 379430
• 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: G01C 22/006 Pedometers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/014 Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/385 Transceivers carried on the body, e.g. in helmets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/33 using wearable devices, e.g. using a smartwatch or smart-glasses
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• 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: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup

Abstract

A set of wearable devices, each paired with a companion device, are configured to cumulatively maintain data about physical activities even though a user may switch between wearing them over a period of time. For example, a streak of workouts over many days can be maintained while the user switches between two watches over that period of time.

Claims

1. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing executable program instructions which when executed by a data processing system cause the data processing system to perform a method comprising:

collecting data about physical activity using one or more sensors on a wearable device while the wearable device is in a first worn state;

storing a value on the wearable device based on the collected data, wherein the value indicates an aspect of a physical activity event;

transmitting the value to a companion device to allow the companion device to store the value on the companion device;

ceasing collection of data about physical activity while the wearable device is in an unworn state;

subsequent to the unworn state and while the wearable device is in a second worn state;

resuming collection of data about physical activity using the one or more sensors;

receiving a value from the companion device, the value from the companion device indicating the aspect of the physical activity event;

comparing the value on the wearable device to the value received from the companion device;

determining a merged value based on the comparing; and

storing the merged value as the value on the wearable device.

2. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the value is a counter value and the aspect is a duration of the physical activity event.

3. The medium as in claim 2 wherein the second worn state follows the unworn state in time and the unworn state follows the first worn state in time;

and wherein the physical event is defined by physical data collected by the one or more sensors; and

wherein each event has an associated type; and

wherein another wearable device is worn while the wearable device is in an unworn state.

4. The medium as in claim 3, wherein the method further comprises:

incrementing the value on the wearable device in response to the collection of data, the incrementing indicating that the duration of the physical activity event has increased.

5. The medium as in claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

notifying a user of an achievement based on the duration exceeding an achievement goal.

6. The medium as in claim 1, the method further comprising:

removing duplicate notifications of an achievement;

notifying a user of the achievement based on the aspect exceeding an achievement goal;

wherein the removing of duplicate notifications prevents a second notification of the achievement.

7. The medium as in claim 1, wherein the value is a counter value and the aspect is a streak of the physical activity event;

the method further comprising;

resetting the counter value to an initial value when the determining of the merged value indicates the streak was broken.

8. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the physical activity event has an associated type and wherein the determining of the merged value uses a merger strategy that is based on the associated type;

wherein the associated type is one of;

streaks;

bests;

first seen values;

or streak resets; and

wherein the merger strategy is one of;

largest wins for streaks and bests;

smallest wins for first seen values;

or remote wins for streak resets.

9. The medium as in claim 1, wherein the second worn state follows in time the unworn state and the unworn state follows in time the first worn state and wherein the method further comprises:

processing the collected data while in the second worn state to derive the value on the wearable device prior to comparing the value on the wearable device to the value received from the companion device.

10. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the wearable device is a watch or an audio accessory or visual accessory and the one or more sensors include one or more of:

an accelerometer;

a gyroscope;

a heart rate sensor;

or a pulse sensor.

11. A method comprising:

collecting data about physical activity using one or more sensors on a wearable device while the wearable device is in a first worn state;

storing a value on the wearable device based on the collected data, wherein the value indicates an aspect of a physical activity event;

transmitting the value to a companion device to allow the companion device to store the value on the companion device;

ceasing collection of data about physical activity while the wearable device is in an unworn state;

subsequent to the unworn state and while the wearable device is in a second worn state;

resuming collection of data about physical activity using the one or more sensors;

receiving a value from the companion device, the value from the companion device indicating the aspect of the physical activity event;

comparing the value on the wearable device to the value received from the companion device;

determining a merged value based on the comparing; and

storing the merged value as the value on the wearable device.

12. The method as in claim 11 wherein the value is a counter value and the aspect is a duration of the physical activity event.

13. The method as in claim 12 wherein the second worn state follows the unworn state in time and the unworn state follows the first worn state in time;

and wherein the physical event is defined by physical data collected by the one or more sensors; and

wherein each event has an associated type; and

wherein another wearable device is worn while the wearable device is in an unworn state.

14. The method as in claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

incrementing the value on the wearable device in response to the collection of data, the incrementing indicating that the duration of the physical activity event has increased.

15. The method as in claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

notifying a user of an achievement based on the duration exceeding an achievement goal.

16. The method as in claim 11, the method further comprising:

removing duplicate notifications of an achievement;

notifying a user of the achievement based on the aspect exceeding an achievement goal;

wherein the removing of duplicate notifications prevents a second notification of the achievement.

17. The method as in claim 11, wherein the value is a counter value and the aspect is a streak of the physical activity event;

the method further comprising;

resetting the counter value to an initial value when the determining of the merged value indicates the streak was broken.

18. The method as in claim 11 wherein the physical activity event has an associated type and wherein the determining of the merged value uses a merger strategy that is based on the associated type;

wherein the associated type is one of;

streaks;

bests;

first seen values;

or streak resets; and

wherein the merger strategy is one of;

largest wins for streaks and bests;

smallest wins for first seen values;

or remote wins for streak resets.

19. The method as in claim 11, wherein the second worn state follows in time the unworn state and the unworn state follows in time the first worn state and wherein the method further comprises:

processing the collected data while in the second worn state to derive the value on the wearable device prior to comparing the value on the wearable device to the value received from the companion device.

20. The method as in claim 11 wherein the wearable device is a watch or an audio accessory or visual accessory and the one or more sensors include one or more of:

an accelerometer;

a gyroscope;

a heart rate sensor;

or a pulse sensor.