Programmable virtual exercise instructor for providing computerized spoken guidance of customized exercise routines to exercise users

• US 7,761,300 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2006
• Issued: 07/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Joseph William Klingler
• Original Assignee: Joseph William Klingler
• Inventors: Klingler, Joseph William
• Primary Examiner(s): ABEBE, DANIEL DEMELASH
• Application Number:
  US11/452,671
• Publication Number:
  US 20070293370A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,497 Days
• Field of Search: 704/258, 704/260, 482/9
• US Class Current: 704/260
• 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 24/0075 Means for generating exercise programs or schemes, e.g. computerized virtual trainer, e.g. using expert databases
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems

Abstract

A programmable virtual exercise instructor processes a word processing document having text chunks corresponding to instructions of actions of an activity in order to communicate the instructions to a person performing the activity. The activity may be an exercise routine with the actions being exercises. The text chunks include words indicative of timing information associated with the text chunks. The exercise instructor converts the text chunks to speech and extracts the timing information from the text chunks. The exercise instructor audibly speaks each text chunk one at a time at a rate consistent with the timing information associated with the text chunk such that the instructions of the activity actions are audibly spoken to the person to thereby direct the person through the activity. The exercise instructor may visually display the text chunks such that the instructions of the activity actions are visually displayed to the person as well.

Claims

1. A system for communicating instructions of an activity to a person, the system comprising:

a speaker; and

a processor operative to receive a text stream having text chunks, each text chunk being a written representation of an instruction of an action of an activity to be performed by a person and including a word with an associated numeric value which are indicative of timing information defining an amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the text chunk is to be performed;

wherein the processor converts the text chunks to speech and extracts the timing information from the text chunks to determine for each text chunk the amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the text chunk is to be performed;

wherein the processor audibly speaks via the speaker one of the text chunks such that the activity action instruction represented by the one of the text chunks is audibly spoken via the speaker to the person;

wherein upon the activity action instruction represented by the one of the text chunks being audibly spoken, the processor waits for the amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the one of the text chunks is to be performed;

wherein upon the amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the one of the text chunks is to be performed has expired, the processor audibly speaks via the speaker a next one of the text chunks such that the activity action instruction represented by the next one of the text chunks is audibly spoken via the speaker to the person.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the activity is an exercise routine and the activity actions are exercises of the exercise routine.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a display;

wherein the processor visually outputs via the display the text chunks for the person to see.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein:

the processor highlights on the display each text chunk as the text chunk is being audibly spoken.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein:

words indicative of timing information associated with the text chunks include explicit timing words representative of units of time for the instructions corresponding to the text chunks such as “

minutes” and

“

seconds”

.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein:

words indicative of timing information associated with the text chunks include implicit timing words representative of time durations for the instructions corresponding to the text chunks such as “

breaths”

, “

repetitions”

, “

times”

, and “

repps”

.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein:

the processor assigns a unit of time to each of the implicit timing words, wherein the units of time assigned to the implicit timing words are configurable by an operator of the processor.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein:

each text chunk includes a text chunk termination character which designates the end of the text chunk such that the processor distinguishes the text chunks from one another when converting the text chunks into speech.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the text chunks are arranged in the text stream in a sequential order;

wherein the processor audibly speaks via the speaker the text chunks in the sequential order such that the instructions of the activity actions are audibly spoken in the sequential order.

10. A system for communicating instructions of an activity to a person, the system comprising:

a speaker; and

a processor operative to receive a text stream having text chunks, each text chunk being a written representation of an instruction of an action of an activity to be performed by a person and including a word with an associated numeric value which are indicative of timing information defining an amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the text chunk is to be performed;

wherein the processor converts the text chunks to speech and extracts the timing information from the text chunks to determine for each text chunk the amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the text chunk is to be performed;

wherein the processor audibly speaks via the speaker one of the text chunks such that the activity action instruction represented by the one of the text chunks is audibly spoken via the speaker to the person;

wherein upon the activity action instruction represented by the one of the text chunks being audibly spoken, the processor waits for the amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the one of the text chunks is to be performed;

wherein upon the amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the one of the text chunks is to be performed has expired, the processor audibly speaks via the speaker a next one of the text chunks such that the activity action instruction represented by the next one of the text chunks is audibly spoken via the speaker to the person;

wherein the text stream further includes a hush type of text chunk, the hush type of text chunk includes a word and an associated numeric value which are indicative of timing information defining an amount of time which is to expire prior to a subsequent one of the text chunks being audibly spoken, wherein the processor waits for the amount of time associated with the hush type of text chunk to expire prior to audibly speaking via the speaker the subsequent one of the text chunks.

11. A method for communicating instructions of an activity to a person, the method comprising:

receiving a text stream having text chunks, each text chunk being a written representation of an instruction of an action of an activity to be performed by a person and including a word with an associated numeric value which are indicative of timing information defining an amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the text chunk is to be performed;

converting the text chunks to speech;

extracting the timing information from the text chunks to determine for each text chunk the amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the text chunk is to be performed;

audibly speaking one of the text chunks such that the activity action instruction represented by the one of the text chunks is audibly spoken to the person;

upon the activity action instruction represented by the one of the text chunks being audibly spoken, waiting for the amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the one of the text chunks is to be performed; and

upon the amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the one of the text chunks is to be performed has expired, audibly speaking a next one of the text chunks such that the activity action instruction represented by the next one of the text chunks is audibly spoken to the person.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein:

the activity is an exercise routine and the activity actions are exercises of the exercise routine.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

visually outputting the text chunks on a display for the person to see.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

highlighting each text chunk on the display as the text chunk is being audibly spoken.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein:

words indicative of timing information associated with the text chunks include explicit timing words representative of units of time for the instructions corresponding to the text chunks such as “

minutes” and

“

seconds”

.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein:

words indicative of timing information associated with the text chunks include implicit timing words representative of time durations for the instructions corresponding to the text chunks such as “

breaths”

, “

repetitions”

, “

times”

, and “

repps”

.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

assigning a programmable unit of time to each of the implicit timing words.

18. The method of claim 11 wherein:

each text chunk includes a text chunk termination character which designates the end of the text chunk such that the processor distinguishes the text chunks from one another when converting the text chunks into speech.

19. The method of claim 11 wherein:

the text chunks are arranged in the text stream in a sequential order;

wherein audibly speaking each text chunk includes audibly speaking the text chunks in the sequential order such that the instructions of the activity actions are audibly spoken in the sequential order.

20. A method for communicating instructions of an activity to a person, the method comprising:

receiving a text stream having text chunks, each text chunk being a written representation of an instruction of an action of an activity to be performed by a person and including a word with an associated numeric value which are indicative of timing information defining an amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the text chunk is to be performed;

converting the text chunks to speech;

extracting the timing information from the text chunks to determine for each text chunk the amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the text chunk is to be performed;

audibly speaking one of the text chunks such that the activity action instruction represented by the one of the text chunks is audibly spoken to the person;

upon the activity action instruction represented by the one of the text chunks being audibly spoken, waiting for the amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the one of the text chunks is to be performed; and

upon the amount of time in which the activity action corresponding to the one of the text chunks is to be performed has expired, audibly speaking a next one of the text chunks such that the activity action instruction represented by the next one of the text chunks is audibly spoken to the person;

wherein the text stream further includes a hush type of text chunk, the hush type of text chunk includes a word and an associated numeric value which are indicative of timing information defining an amount of time which is to expire prior to a subsequent one of the text chunks being audibly spoken;

the method further comprising waiting for the amount of time associated with the hush type of text chunk to expire prior to audibly speaking the subsequent one of the text chunks.