Wearable measuring apparatus for sports training

• US 10,220,255 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2018
• Issued: 03/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lori Copelan, Russell Copelan
• Original Assignee: Lori Copelan, Russell Copelan
• Inventors: Copelan, Russell, Copelan, Lori
• Primary Examiner(s): Goldner, Gary D Urbiel
• Application Number:
  US15/951,668
• Publication Number:
  US 20180296878A1
• Time in Patent Office: 327 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/10 Athletes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0412 Low-profile patch shaped housings
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1122 of movement trajectories
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4528 Joints A61B5/4533, A61B5/4538 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6833 Adhesive patches
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0006 Computerised comparison for qualitative assessment of motion sequences or the course of a movement
• 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: G01B 7/30 for measuring angles or tapers; for testing the alignment of axes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3228 Monitoring task completion, e.g. by use of idle timers, stop commands or wait commands

Abstract

A wearable apparatus for using reinforced neurofeedback for sports training is configured to be worn at or near a user'"'"'s joint to monitor a position of the user'"'"'s joint. One such a wearable apparatus comprises a processor, a computer-readable medium, a sensor, an I/O component, a battery, a timer, a signaling component, and a flexible printed circuit. The computer-readable medium store at least one optimal range of the user'"'"'s joint and/or a sequence of timed optimal ranges of the positions of the user'"'"'s joint for a specific sport. The sensor continuously detects the position of the user'"'"'s joint. Once the processor determines that the user'"'"'s joint falls outside the optimal range of the position of the user'"'"'s joint, the processor activates the signaling component to send a feedback signal for the user to make immediate corrections to the position of the user'"'"'s joint.

Claims

1. A wearable apparatus for sports training, comprising:

(a) a processor;

(b) a computer-readable medium communicably coupled to the processor and configured to store one or more optimal ranges of joint positions of a musculoskeletal joint of a user;

(c) a sensor communicably coupled to the processor and configured to detect a joint position of the user'"'"'s musculoskeletal joint;

(d) a signaling component communicably coupled to the processor and configured to send a user detectable signal; and

(e) a timer, wherein;

(1) the wearable apparatus is configured such that if the joint position of the user'"'"'s musculoskeletal joint falls outside the one or more optimal ranges of joint positions of the user'"'"'s musculoskeletal joint, the signaling component is activated to send the user detectable signal;

(2) the computer-readable medium is further configured to store one or more timed optimal ranges of joint positions of the user'"'"'s musculoskeletal joint;

(3) each of the one or more timed optimal ranges is configured to comprise one of the one or more optimal ranges of joint positions of the user'"'"'s musculoskeletal joint and a distinctive timecode;

(4) one of the distinctive timecodes is zero; and

(5) the signaling component is activated when a current time stamp retrieved from the timer matches the distinctive timecode of one of the one or more timed optimal ranges, and the signaling component also being configured to be activated when the joint position of the user'"'"'s musculoskeletal joint falls outside the one or more optimal ranges of joint positions of the one of the one or more timed optimal ranges.

2. The wearable apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wearable apparatus is configured such that the joint position of the user'"'"'s musculoskeletal joint detected by the sensor is a relative angle between a distal side and a proximal side of the user'"'"'s musculoskeletal joint.

3. The wearable apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an input/output component communicably coupled to the processor and configured to receive a user command.

4. The wearable apparatus of claim 3, wherein the input/output component is further configured to communicably couple the wearable apparatus to a device.

5. The wearable apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a flexible printed circuit board configured to support and electrically connect the processor, the computer-readable medium, the sensor, and the signaling component.

6. The wearable apparatus of claim 5, wherein the flexible printed circuit board is further configured to releasably couple to skin of the user at the user'"'"'s musculoskeletal joint.

7. The wearable apparatus of claim 6, wherein the flexible printed circuit board further comprises a refastenable, skin-safe adhesive.