Athletic monitoring system and method

• US 7,519,327 B2
• Filed: 04/07/2006
• Issued: 04/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Affinity Labs of Texas, LLC
• Inventors: White, Russell W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Phu; Sanh D
• Application Number:
  US11/400,516
• Publication Number:
  US 20060189360A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,103 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 455/41.1, 455/550.1, 455/553.1, 455/69, 455/78, 455/84, 455/522, 600/300, 600/309, 600/316, 600/365, 600/483, 600/503, 600/508, 600/509, 600/519, 600/520
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0025 Tracking the path or location of one or more users, e.g. players of a game
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0071 Distinction between different activities, movements, or kind of sports performed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0625 Emitting sound, noise or music
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/063 Spoken or verbal instructions
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/12 Absolute positions, e.g. by using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/13 Relative positions
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/17 Counting, e.g. counting periodical movements, revolutions or cycles, or including further data processing to determine distances or speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/20 Distances or displacements
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/30 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/34 Angular speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/836 Sensors arranged on the body of the user
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/20 with means for remote communication, e.g. internet or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/50 Wireless data transmission, e.g. by radio transmitters or telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2244/20 Swimming
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0021 Tracking a path or terminating locations
• 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: A63B 69/0028 for running, jogging or speed-walking movable endless bands A63B22/02
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/16 for cycling , i.e. arrangements on or for real bicycles
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/0622 Visual, audio or audio-visual systems for entertaining, instructing or motivating the user
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/0686 Timers, rhythm indicators or pacing apparatus using electric or electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/10 : by using measurements of speed or acceleration G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/002 : for cycles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/006 : Pedometers
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/08 : Use of electric radiation detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 : Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 : Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3822 : specially adapted for use in vehicles H04B1/3827 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/21 : Combinations with auxiliary equipment, e.g. with clocks or memoranda pads
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 : using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72442 : for playing music files
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72448 : with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 : including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/06 : including a wireless LAN interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 : including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/10 : Small scale networks; Flat hierarchical networks

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for monitoring the athletic performance of a user while also providing the user with entertainment such as an outputting of music. A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a housing component at least partially defining an enclosure. A performance engine may be located within the enclosure and may utilize a signal from a motion sensor to generate a performance metric like current speed, distance traveled, or cadence. The system may also include an audio and/or a visual output mechanism such as a speaker assembly or a display device. The output mechanism may be capable of presenting the performance metric to a user.

Claims

1. A performance monitoring system comprising:

a housing component at least partially defining an enclosure;

a memory located at least partially within the enclosure;

a set of performance engine instructions stored in the memory and configured to utilize a signal from a motion sensor to generate a first performance metric and a second performance metric;

an audio file player located within the enclosure;

an audio output device configured to output a first audio output signal representing an audio file played by the audio file player and a second audio output signal representing a spoken reporting of the first performance metric and the second performance metric, the second audio output signal output responsive to a user request; and

a wide area wireless transceiver located within the enclosure and operable to receive an incoming telephone call, wherein the audio output device is operable to indicate the existence of the incoming telephone call and to pause the first audio output signal in connection with an answering of the incoming telephone call.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a cradle formed to receive the housing component, the cradle comprising a coupling mechanism formed to mount the cradle to a bicycle.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising a bicycle motion sensor that is the motion sensor, wherein the bicycle motion sensor is operable to communicate the signal across an interface selected from a group consisting of a wired interface and a wireless interface.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein an MP3 player comprises the housing component, the memory, and a display device operable to present a graphical representation of the first performance metric to the user.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a local area wireless transceiver configured to be attached at the housing component, wherein the local area wireless transceiver is operable to communicate information in a frequency range greater than 2.3GHz.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first performance metric and the second performance metric are each selected from a group consisting of a cadence metric, a speed metric, a heart rate performance metric, a time metric, a calories burned metric, and a distance metric and farther wherein the system utilizes a GPS device to sense movement.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a local area wireless transceiver and a heart rate sensor operable to communicate heart rate information for the user to the local area wireless transceiver, wherein the set of performance engine instructions are further operable to utilize the heart rate information to generate a heart rate performance metric.

8. The system of claim 1, farther comprising a DSP core, wherein the audio file player is operable to play a file format selected from the group consisting of an MP3 file, a .WAV file, a MIDI file, and an .AU file.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of the performance engine instructions are embodied in firmware, further wherein at least some of the memory is embodied in flash memory.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a speaker assembly operable to communicatively couple with the audio output device.

37. The system of claim 1, wherein the user request is a voice command.

38. The system of claim 1, further comprising a toggle disk to enable user interaction with the performance monitoring system.

39. The system of claim 1, further comprising an application loaded in the performance monitoring system, wherein the application is downloaded over the air via the wide area wireless transceiver.

11. A method of athletic performance monitoring, comprising:

(a) receiving a collection of performance metric information from a device storing the collection, wherein the device comprises;

a housing component at least partially defining an enclosure;

a memory located at least partially within the enclosure;

a set of performance engine instructions stored in the memory and configured to utilize a signal from a motion sensor to generate a first performance metric and a second performance metric;

an audio file player located within the enclosure;

an audio output device configured to output a first audio output signal representing an audio file played by the audio file player and a second audio output signal representing a spoken reporting of the first performance metric and the second performance metric; and

a wide area wireless transceiver operable to receive an incoming telephone call, and wherein the device is operable to indicate the existence of the incoming telephone call and to pause the first audio output signal in connection with an answering of the incoming telephone call; and

(b) generating a viewable representation of the collection.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the collection of performance metric information represents a tracked athletic performance, further wherein the tracked athletic performance is selected from a group consisting of a run, a walk, a swim, and a bicycle ride.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the collection of performance metric information is indirectly received from the device, further wherein the indirect receipt comprises at least one communication via the Public Internet.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising making the viewable representation of the collection available via a wide area network.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising presenting an animated sequence depicting the athletic performance associated with the collection of performance metric information.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the athletic performance is running.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the collection of performance metric information represents a single run.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising allowing a first user to share at least a portion of a first user collection of performance metric information with a different user.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the collection of performance metric information is indirectly received from the device, further wherein the indirect receipt comprises a communication via the Public Internet and an additional communication between the device of a user and a personal computer of the user.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing a mounting system that secures the motion sensor to a human body part, wherein the mounting system comprises a device holder portion formed such that the motion sensor at least partially fits within the device holder portion and the device holder portion surrounds the motion sensor such that the motion sensor does not touch the skin of a user.

40. The method of claim 15, further comprising presenting the animated sequence via a map that displays a performance route and the performance metric information.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising presenting the animated sequence using GPS information received from the device.

42. The method of claim 11, further comprising sharing the performance metric information with a third party via a cellular network.

21. A performance monitoring system comprising:

a computer readable medium storing instructions to direct an athletic monitoring device to generate a first performance metric and a second performance metric that are based at least in part on a signal generated by a motion sensing device; and

wherein the athletic monitoring device comprises an audio output mechanism to simultaneously output a first audio output signal representing an audio file being played by the athletic monitoring device and a second audio output signal representing a spoken reporting of the first performance metric and the second performance metric, and includes a wide area wireless transceiver operable to receive an incoming telephone call, and wherein the athletic monitoring device is configured to indicate the existence of the incoming telephone call and to pause the audio file in connection with an answering of the incoming telephone call.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the athletic monitoring device is configured to accept an update that comprises a modified set of performance engine instructions and to store the modified set of performance engine instructions in the computer readable medium.

23. The system of claim 21, further comprising the motion sensing device.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein the athletic monitoring device is configured as an MP3 player.

25. The system of claim 21, further comprising a mounting system for securing the motion sensing device to a human body part.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the human body part is an arm.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the mounting system comprises a mechanism that secures the mounting system to the human body part and a device holder portion formed such that the motion sensing device at least partially fits within the device holder portion.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the device holder portion surrounds the motion sensing device such that the motion sensing device does not touch the skin of the user.

29. The system of claim 21, further comprising a different computer readable medium storing instructions to direct a personal computer to receive a collection of performance metric information from the athletic monitoring device and to send an update that comprises a modified set of performance engine instructions to the athletic monitoring device.

30. An athletic performance system, comprising:

a mounting system formed to hold a device that;

(1) generates a signal indicating that a user is engaging in an athletic endeavor; and

, (2) wirelessly outputs the signal to allow a different device having a processor and a memory to generate a first and a second performance metric related to the athletic endeavor and to output a spoken reporting of the first and the second performance metric while also outputting a playing of an audio file to the user, the different device further including a wide area wireless transceiver operable to receive an incoming telephone call, and wherein the different device is configured to indicate the existence of the incoming telephone call and to pause a playing of the audio file in connection with an answering of the incoming telephone call;

the mounting system configured to maintain the device in a position that insulates the device from touching the skin of the user; and

a mechanism that releasably secures the mounting system to a body part of the user.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the athletic endeavor is selected from a group consisting of running and walking.

32. The system of claim 30, wherein the mounting system comprises a holder portion formed such that the device at least partially fits within the holder portion and can be mounted in and removed from the holder portion by the user.

33. The system of claim 30, wherein the athletic endeavor is cycling.

34. The system of claim 30, further comprising a remote system configured to receive a collection of performance metric information stored at the different device.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the remote system is further configured to generate an animated sequence depicting a representation of the athletic endeavor.

36. The system of claim 30, wherein the mounting system comprises a holder portion formed such that the device at least partially fits within the holder portion and a top surface of the device remains exposed to a user when mounted in the mounting system.