Systems and methods for monitoring athletic performance
First Claim
1. An apparatus for monitoring one or more athletic performance characteristics of a user, the apparatus comprising:
- a sensing unit adapted to be attachable to a shoe of a user, the sensing unit comprising;
(i) a first sensor adapted to monitor a movement of a foot of the user while the user is in motion, the first sensor comprising a gyroscopic sensor for measuring angular velocity data for the foot of the user;
(ii) processing means for (a) processing the angular velocity data from the first sensor to determine a processed value indicative of a first athletic performance characteristic comprising a foot strike location of a foot of the user upon striking a ground surface, and (b) comparing the processed value to a range of predetermined comparison values to determine the athletic performance characteristic relating to the processed value, the range of comparison values comprising a first range of values indicative of a heel strike, a second range of values indicative of a midfoot strike, and a third range of values indicative of a forefoot strike;
(iii) a periodic trigger adapted to distinguish one stride from another for determining a point in time in each gait cycle before a foot strike event takes place to trigger the processing means to process angular velocity data from the first sensor to identify a maximum value and a minimum value during a window of time, wherein the point in time is triggered when, during a foot swing portion of each gait cycle, a sum of negative angular velocities, measured by the first sensor, reaches a preset level; and
(iv) transmitting means for transmitting a data package representative of the performance characteristic to a remote receiver, the data package comprising an indication of whether a heel strike, a midfoot strike, or a forefoot strike has occurred.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to devices and methods for monitoring one or more athletic performance characteristic of a user. An example apparatus includes a sensing unit adapted to be attachable to a shoe of a user, the sensing unit including a first sensor adapted to monitor an movement of a foot of the user while the user is in motion, the first sensor comprising a gyroscopic sensor, processing means for determining a first performance characteristic of the user based upon an output from the first sensor, the first performance characteristic comprising a foot strike location of a foot of the user upon striking a ground surface, and transmitting means for transmitting a data package representative of the performance characteristic to a remote receiver.
422 Citations
36 Claims
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1. An apparatus for monitoring one or more athletic performance characteristics of a user, the apparatus comprising:
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a sensing unit adapted to be attachable to a shoe of a user, the sensing unit comprising; (i) a first sensor adapted to monitor a movement of a foot of the user while the user is in motion, the first sensor comprising a gyroscopic sensor for measuring angular velocity data for the foot of the user; (ii) processing means for (a) processing the angular velocity data from the first sensor to determine a processed value indicative of a first athletic performance characteristic comprising a foot strike location of a foot of the user upon striking a ground surface, and (b) comparing the processed value to a range of predetermined comparison values to determine the athletic performance characteristic relating to the processed value, the range of comparison values comprising a first range of values indicative of a heel strike, a second range of values indicative of a midfoot strike, and a third range of values indicative of a forefoot strike; (iii) a periodic trigger adapted to distinguish one stride from another for determining a point in time in each gait cycle before a foot strike event takes place to trigger the processing means to process angular velocity data from the first sensor to identify a maximum value and a minimum value during a window of time, wherein the point in time is triggered when, during a foot swing portion of each gait cycle, a sum of negative angular velocities, measured by the first sensor, reaches a preset level; and (iv) transmitting means for transmitting a data package representative of the performance characteristic to a remote receiver, the data package comprising an indication of whether a heel strike, a midfoot strike, or a forefoot strike has occurred. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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21. A method for monitoring one or more athletic performance characteristics of a user, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a sensing unit adapted to be attachable to a shoe of a user, the sensing unit comprising; (i) a first sensor adapted to monitor a movement of a foot of the user while the user is in motion, the first sensor comprising a gyroscopic sensor for measuring angular velocity data for the foot of the user, (ii) processing means for (a) processing the angular velocity data from the first sensor to determine a processed value indicative of a first athletic performance characteristic comprising a foot strike location of a foot of the user upon striking a ground surface, and (b) comparing the processed value to a range of predetermined comparison values to determine the athletic performance characteristic relating to the processed value, the range of comparison values comprising a first range of values indicative of a heel strike, a second range of values indicative of a midfoot strike, and a third range of values indicative of a forefoot strike, (iii) a periodic trigger adapted to distinguish one stride from another for determining a point in time in each gait cycle before a foot strike event takes place to trigger the processing means to process angular velocity data from the first sensor to identify a maximum value and a minimum value during a window of time, wherein the point in time is triggered when, during a foot swing portion of each gait cycle, a sum of negative angular velocities, measured by the first sensor, reaches a preset level, and (iv) transmitting means for transmitting a data package representative of the performance characteristic to a remote receiver, the data package comprising an indication of whether a heel strike, a midfoot strike, or a forefoot strike has occurred; and providing receiving means for receiving the data package transmitted from the sensing unit and communicating information representative of the performance characteristic to the user. - View Dependent Claims (22, 36)
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Specification