System and method for monitoring power applied to a bicycle

• US 10,004,946 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2014
• Issued: 06/26/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MedHab, LLC
• Original Assignee: MedHab, LLC
• Inventors: Ross, Johnny
• Primary Examiner(s): Desta, Elias
• Application Number:
  US14/505,106
• Publication Number:
  US 20150025816A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,363 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 17/00 Insoles for insertion, e.g. footbeds or inlays, for attachment to the shoe after the upper has been joined
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 3/34 with electrical or electronic arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 5/14 Shoes for cyclists
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0247 Pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/12 Manufacturing methods specially adapted for producing sensors for in-vivo measurements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1038 Measuring plantar pressure during gait
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6807 Footwear
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6811 External prosthesis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/743 Displaying an image simultaneously with additional graphical information, e.g. symbols, charts, function plots
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/00 Measuring of physical parameters relating to sporting activity
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/51 Force
• 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: G01P 7/00 Measuring speed by integrating acceleration measuring travelled distance by double integration of acceleration G01C21/16
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49128 Assembling formed circuit to base

Abstract

A sensor system and method for monitoring power exerted by a person riding a bicycle has a pair of sensor insoles and a portable electronic device. The sensor insoles each have a plurality of force sensors, an accelerometer, and a transmitter for transmitting data from the plurality of force sensors and the accelerometer. A power measurement program operably installed in the computer memory of the portable electronic device receives the data and calculates power and other outputs based upon the data received.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring power exerted by a person riding a bicycle with pedals, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a pair of sensor insoles, each of the sensor insoles having a substrate layer having a plurality of force sensors, an accelerometer, a transmitter for transmitting data from the plurality of force sensors and the accelerometer, and a battery operably connected to a printed circuit board having a computer processor and a computer memory;

providing a portable electronic device having a computer processor and a computer memory for receiving the data transmitted from the transmitters of the sensor insoles, and further including a computer display;

positioning the pair of sensor insoles within shoes being worn by the person so that the sensor insoles are positioned beneath the feet of the person;

receiving the data transmitted from the pair of sensor insoles to the portable electronic device while the person rides the bicycle;

determining a waveform using total acceleration on the Y and Z axes of the accelerometers;

determine an average time from peak to peak of the waveform and extrapolate that over a period of time to determine a cadence;

calculating power based upon the cadence and the force data received from the force sensors;

outputting the power calculated on the computer display of the portable electronic device;

receiving a predefined cadence from the person;

comparing the cadence calculated to the predefined cadence; and

reporting if the cadence is the same as or different from the predefined cadence.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the following steps:

calculating a torque based upon the force measured by the force sensors; and

computing the power using the torque and the cadence.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the following steps:

measuring a peak power for every rotation of the pedals; and

reporting the peak power measured via the computer display of the portable electronic device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the following steps:

measuring a peak power for every rotation of the pedals;

determining an average peak power by averaging the peak power for a number of rotations of the pedals; and

reporting the average peak power on the computer display of the portable electronic device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the following steps:

measuring a total power for every rotation of the pedals;

determining an average power by averaging the power measurements for a number of rotations of the pedals; and

reporting the average power on the computer display of the portable electronic device.

6. A sensor system for monitoring a person performing a physical activity, the sensor system comprising:

a pair of sensor insoles, each having substrate layer shaped to be worn in a shoe and adjacent the underside of the person'"'"'s feet, each of the substrate layers having a plurality of force sensors, an accelerometer, a transmitter for transmitting data from the plurality of force sensors and the accelerometer, and a battery operably connected to a printed circuit board having a computer processor and a computer memory; and

a monitoring application software adapted to be operably installed in a computer memory of a portable electronic device for performing the following steps;

generating a digital model of the person;

displaying the digital model on the computer display of the portable electronic device;

displaying movement of the digital model, in real time, based upon the data received from the sensor insoles, so that the digital model of the person approximates the movement of the person performing the physical activity; and

transmitting the digital model in real time via a network to a remote computer for display and analysis.

7. The sensor system of claim 6, wherein the monitoring application software is able to perform the following additional steps:

comparing the movement of the digital model with a preferred movement model;

determining if the actual movement of the person approximates the preferred movement model, or if correction is needed;

communicating with the person, in real time, with corrective instructions when correction is needed.

8. The sensor system of claim 6, wherein the monitoring application software is able to provide instructions on how to perform an exercise that are synchronized with the action exercise being performed.