Physical exercise system having a virtual reality environment controlled by a user's movement

• US 6,244,987 B1
• Filed: 05/30/1997
• Issued: 06/12/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation), Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Maeda, Mitsuo, Kimura, Masahiro, Mizukura, Isao, Shimono, Futomi, Ohsuga, Mieko
• Primary Examiner(s): Yu, Mickey
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hwang, Victor K.
• Application Number:
  US08/866,302
• Time in Patent Office: 1,474 Days
• Field of Search: 482/9, 482/902, 482/4, 482/247
• US Class Current: 482/4
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0638 Displaying moving images of recorded environment, e.g. virtual environment
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0644 with display speed of moving landscape controlled by the user's performance
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2208/12 specially adapted for children
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2213/004 with electrotherapy
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/30 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/54 Torque
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/70 Measuring or simulating ambient conditions, e.g. weather, terrain or surface conditions
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/20 with means for remote communication, e.g. internet or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2230/60 muscle strain, i.e. measured on the user
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/00 Electric or electronic controls for exercising apparatus of preceding groups; Controlling or monitoring of exercises, sportive games, training or athletic performances
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/0622 Visual, audio or audio-visual systems for entertaining, instructing or motivating the user
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/28 responding to control signals received from the game device for affecting ambient conditions, e.g. for vibrating players' seats, activating scent dispensers or affecting temperature or light controlling the output signals based on the game progress A63F13/50
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/816 Athletics, e.g. track-and-field sports
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1012 involving biosensors worn by the player, e.g. for measuring heart beat, limb activity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/302 specially adapted for receiving control signals not targeted to a display device or game input means, e.g. vibrating driver's seat, scent dispenser
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8005 Athletics
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8017 Driving on land or water; Flying
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 482/902 Employing specific graphic or video display

Abstract

A wellness system comprises an exercise load providing unit for providing a load of a physical exercise for a user, and for measuring a movement of the user who is doing the physical exercise, a virtual reality environment providing unit for providing the user with a virtual reality environment that can cause user'"'"'s plural senses such as the sense of sight, hearing, touch, and smell to work, according to the contents of the virtual reality environment, and a control unit for controlling the virtual reality environment provided by the virtual reality environment providing unit according to the user'"'"'s movement measured by the exercise load providing unit. Furthermore, when providing the virtual reality environment, the virtual reality environment providing unit displays an image which produces the virtual reality environment by setting its angle of view to be larger than an angle of view of a corresponding object or scene which was shot. A step dynamic image method is used to present the image data and involves storing a plurality of dynamic image cuts taken at a plurality of places in a path through which a user will virtually traverse and replaying the plurality of dynamic image cuts cut by cut according to a physical exercise that the user does and synchronizing each dynamic image cut with a corresponding sound, wind and fragrance.

Claims

1. A wellness system comprising:

an exercise load providing means for providing a load of a physical exercise for a user, and for measuring a movement of the user who is doing the physical exercise;

a virtual reality environment providing means for providing the user with a virtual reality environment according to the contents of the virtual reality environment; and

a control means for controlling the virtual reality environment provided by said virtual reality environment providing means according to the user'"'"'s movement measured by said exercise load providing means, and wherein said virtual reality environment providing means stores a plurality of dynamic image cuts which were taken at a plurality of places of a real environment which is a source of the virtual reality environment, and replays the dynamic image cuts cut by cut according to the user'"'"'s movement measured by said exercise load providing means,

wherein when said exercise providing means measures the user'"'"'s movement as negligible or stopped, the dynamic image cut currently replaying is repeated continuously by said control means until said exercise providing means detects an additional movement by the user, and

wherein each of the dynamic image cuts represents a fixed viewpoint and comprises a series of frames played in a forward sequence showing the fixed viewpoint, wherein a first frame in said forward sequence is similar to a last frame of the series of frames in said forward sequence so as to reduce discontinuity when the dynamic image cut is repeated continuously.

2. The wellness system according to claim 1, wherein said virtual reality environment providing means provides the user with a sound, a wind, and fragrance which are associated with each of the plurality of dynamic image cuts, in synchronization with the replay of each of the plurality of dynamic image cuts, wherein the sound does not vary significantly for a series of frames of each of the dynamic image cuts so that the sound sounds natural when a dynamic image cut is repeated continuously.