United States Patent [19J
`Sham et al.
`
`[54] FITNESS MONITORING DEVICE HAVING
`AN ELECTRONIC PEDOMETER AND A
`WIRELESS HEART RATE MONITOR
`Inventors: Ka Yiu Sham, Great Falls, Va.; Philip
`Lim-Kong Wong, Northants, England
`[73] Assignee: Acumen, Inc., Sterling, Va.
`
`[75]
`
`[21]
`[22]
`[51]
`[52]
`[58]
`
`[56]
`
`Appl. No.: 926,035
`Sep. 9, 1997
`Filed:
`Int. Cl.6
`................................................... A61B 5/0205
`U.S. Cl. .............................................................. 600/483
`Field of Search ..................................... 600/483, 503,
`600!508, 509, 519, 520; 128/903
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`1!1983 Jimenez eta!. ......................... 600/519
`8/1994 Nagashima .............................. 128/903
`
`4,367,752
`5,335,664
`
`111111
`
`1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
`US005891042A
`5,891,042
`[11] Patent Number:
`[45] Date of Patent:
`Apr. 6, 1999
`
`5,456,262 10/1995 Birnbaum .
`5,491,474
`2/1996 Suni et a!. .
`5,539,706
`7/1996 Takenaka eta!. .
`Primary Examiner-William E. Kamm
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm---Evenson, McKeown, Edwards &
`Lenahan P.L.L. C.
`ABSTRACT
`[57]
`A fitness monitoring device includes an electronic pedom-
`eter which responds to a user's body motion at each step and
`a wireless heart rate monitor which is wirelessly coupled to
`the electronic pedometer. The wireless heart rate monitor
`provides a heart beat signal indicative of an exertion level of
`the user. A visual display is provided to display the pedom-
`eter functions and the heart rate signal. A microprocessor
`receives the pedometer output signal and the heart rate
`signal. The microprocessor is programmed to provide visual
`display data relating to the heart rate and pedometer func-
`tions.
`
`9 Claims, 5 Drawing Sheets
`
`10
`
`WIRELESS
`BELT
`TRANSMITTER
`
`LOW FREQ.
`(KHz)
`WIRELESS
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`14
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`30 4
`
`HEART
`RATE
`RECEIVER
`
`31
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`U.S. Patent
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`Apr. 6, 1999
`
`Sheet 1 of 5
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`5,891,042
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`60
`
`64
`
`I
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 6, 1999
`
`Sheet 5 of 5
`
`5,891,042
`
`50
`
`)2 NO KEY PRESS FOR 1 MIN
`
`54
`
`CLICK B r - - - 1 -TI-ME_M_O-DE_,.__----.1
`
`58
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`CLICK A
`
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`CLICK B HEARTRATE MODE
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`CLICK B CALORIES MODE
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`
`STEPS MODE
`
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`
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`SPEED MODE
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`64
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`66
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`72
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`
`6
`
`

`

`5,891,042
`
`5
`
`1
`FITNESS MONITORING DEVICE HAVING
`AN ELECTRONIC PEDOMETER AND A
`WIRELESS HEART RATE MONITOR
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`This invention relates to a fitness activity monitoring
`device and, more particularly, to a fitness activity monitoring
`device which monitors the heart rate of its user while
`providing pedometer functions.
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`In order to measure the walking or jogging distance
`covered by a user, both mechanical and electronic pedom-
`eters have been developed. Typically, such pedometers are 15
`worn on the side of the user such as by being clipped to a belt
`or the waist line of the user's pants in the manner of a pager
`or the like. Other known pedometers are built into a wrist
`watch worn on the user's wrist. In general, the pedometer
`functions to record the distance covered by the user by
`responding to the user's body motion at each step. Pedom-
`eters include various features and functions such that they
`can be adapted to the personal stride of the user. The
`pedometer includes a display, such as an LCD or LED
`display, for displaying the distance covered, number of steps
`taken during the workout, stopwatch and clock features, etc.
`In most cases, the known pedometers use a mechanical
`sensing device to respond to the user's body motion at each
`step. However, the use of the mechanical sensor is disad-
`vantageous as it is more susceptible to breakage and inac-
`curacies.
`Electronic pedometers are also known which include an
`electronic sensor circuit to respond to the user's body
`motion at each step or stride. These electronic pedometers
`are more reliable and less susceptible to breakage.
`While the known pedometers provide useful information
`during a workout, they unfortunately do not provide the user
`with any indication as to the level of exertion being placed
`on the user's body. Thus, while specific performance limi-
`tations may be indicated, the pedometer cannot inform the
`user whether they are training to hard or to little. The user
`therefore needs some indication of the degree of physical
`effort actually exerted as measured by physiological signs.
`The use of physiological signs provides a more direct 45
`indication to guide the exercise than the information pro-
`vided by the known pedometers such as the distance
`travelled, amount of time involved, or the physical work
`load.
`In view of the above, heart rate monitors have been
`developed to allow a person to consistently engage in an
`appropriate quantity and quality of exercise by monitoring
`the cardiovascular system via the heart rate. In general,
`effective aerobic conditioning requires that one's heart rate
`is maintained at a proper level or "target zone" for at least 55
`fifteen minutes. Prior to the use of heart rate monitors, a
`person would have to interrupt the workout in order to
`manually check their heart rate before continuing or modi-
`fying the exertion level of their workout. Of course, the
`sudden interruption of a workout to check the heart rate is 60
`itself disadvantageous.
`One known method of monitoring the heart rate uses
`electrodes attached to the user in the vicinity of the heart.
`Electrical signals detected by the electrodes are transmitted
`via conductors or wires to a processor which can compute
`the heart rate. These "wired" heart rate monitors present
`various problems in that the wires often interfere with an
`
`2
`exercise workout, particularly during running or walking
`workouts. They are therefore not particularly suited to active
`exercising.
`There have also been developed so-called "wireless" heart
`rate monitors which use a telemetric transmitter unit for
`wirelessly transmitting electrical signals detected by elec-
`trodes to a separate receiver device. One such telemetric
`transmitter unit is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,474. It is
`also known to use wired or telemetric wireless heart rate
`10 monitors with stationary exercise devices such as a cycle
`ergometer as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No.
`5,456,262. The ergometer is used to simulate an exercise
`program. However, such combined devices restrict the
`user's exercise routines to stationary exercise units.
`Pedometers have also been developed which incorporate
`pulse meters for sensing the user's heartbeat, such as in U.S.
`Pat. No. 5,539,706. In contrast to heart rate monitors which
`determine the heartbeat in beats per minute (bpm) based on
`electrical signals from the heart, the pulse meters calculate
`20 the heartbeat by sensing blood flow through the user's veins.
`Typically, pulse meters incorporate an infrared light sensor
`which is pressed against the user's fingertip or clipped
`against the user's ear. The infrared light sensor determines
`how fast the user's blood is pumping through their veins.
`25 Unfortunately, such pulse meters encounter problems in that
`if the user's finger is pressed too hard against the sensor, the
`blood flow will slow down. By contrast, if pressed too
`lightly against the sensor, then even the slightest movement
`of the user's fingertip can give erratic readings. Similarly,
`30 the ear-clip pulse meter models can also provide faulty
`readings due to poor circulation in the user's ears, or to
`sensor movements caused by the connecting wires which
`must dangle from the sensor. While the use of pulse meters
`is accurate when the user remains very still, they become
`35 unstable and inaccurate during a fitness routine. This there-
`fore defeats the purpose of using the pulse meter to deter-
`mine the user's heartbeat during exercise. Proper use of
`heart rate measurement requires that the user be aware of the
`heart rate during the exercise. As noted above, however,
`40 accurate readings with the pulse meters are accomplished by
`interrupting or slowing down the exercise routine, which has
`its own disadvantages notwithstanding the fact that the
`user's heart rate instantaneously lowers during a stoppage or
`slow down.
`There is therefore needed a fitness monitoring device
`which can effectively provide the user with physiological
`information concerning their exercise level while at the
`same time providing empirical information with respect to
`50 the duration and extent of a workout.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`These needs are met according to the present invention by
`providing a fitness monitoring device having an electronic
`pedometer and a wireless heart rate monitor. The present
`invention provides all of the functional features of a pedom-
`eter together with the advantageous features of a wireless
`heart rate monitor.
`The fitness monitoring device according to the invention
`measures the actual electrical signal from the user's heart via
`a chest belt transmitter, such as a telemetric transmitter,
`which is placed on the user's skin next to the heart. The
`transmitter transmits the heart rate signal, or some variation
`thereof, to a processor in the electronic pedometer via a high
`65 frequency magnetic field in a wireless manner. The micro-
`processor in the electronic pedometer not only determines
`the user's heart rate, but also calculates a target zone heart
`
`7
`
`

`

`5,891,042
`
`5
`
`3
`rate based on the user's physical characteristics. Further, the
`microprocessor is programmed to calculate and display the
`pedometer functions such as the distance covered, number
`of steps taken, current speed, average speed, calories burned,
`etc.
`Other objects, advantages and novel features of the
`present invention will become apparent from the following
`detailed description of the invention when considered m
`conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a jogger using the fitness
`monitoring device according to the present invention;
`FIG. 2 is a side view of the fitness monitoring device
`according to the present invention, including a display
`which is viewed by the user;
`FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram of the fitness monitoring
`device according to the present invention;
`FIGS. 4 and 4a are a circuit diagram of the electronic 20
`pedometer used in the fitness monitoring device and an
`equivalent electrical circuit for the sensor, respectively,
`according to the present invention;
`FIG. 5 is an electrical circuit diagram of a heart rate
`receiver; and
`FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the
`fitness monitoring device according to the present invention.
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`Referring to FIG. 1, a user is shown performing a running
`workout routine. The user has a wireless telemetric trans-
`mitter unit 10 arranged on the user's skin adjacent his heart.
`The telemetric transmitter unit 10 can be secured in this
`position via a belt strap 12. Further details regarding the belt
`strap and the manner in which the belt strap arranges the
`transmitter unit adjacent the heart are not necessary for an
`understanding of the present invention, although they are
`provided in copending application Ser. No. 08/577,015, filed
`Dec. 22, 1995, commonly assigned to the assignee of the
`present invention.
`The user is also provided with a fitness monitoring device
`14 which can, for example, be clipped to the user's waist
`band. Of course, the fitness monitoring device 14 can be
`secured to the user in other ways such as via a wrist
`watch-type arrangement or by simply being held by the user.
`As will be described in further detail below, the fitness
`monitoring device 14 includes an electronic pedometer
`integrated together with a wireless heart rate monitor. In this
`manner, no cumbersome lead lines must be provided
`between the telemetric transmitter unit 10 and the fitness
`monitoring device 14.
`Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a side view of a fitness
`monitoring device 14. The fitness monitoring device 14
`includes a belt clip 16 which allows the device 14 to be
`secured to the user's belt or waist band. Further, the fitness
`monitoring device 14 includes a display 18 and an operating
`element 20 incorporated into its housing 17. Of course, more
`than one operating element 20 can be provided in order to
`allow the user to make full use of the functional capabilities
`of the fitness monitoring device 14. The display 18 can be, 60
`for example, an LCD display which includes an alpha/
`numeric display portion 22 as well as a heart rate monitoring
`indicator icon 24. Other shapes and forms of the fitness
`monitoring device 14, its operating elements 20 and its
`display 18 can be provided based on the specific require- 65
`ments of the design without departing from the spirit and
`scope of the present invention.
`
`4
`Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a schematic block
`diagram of the fitness monitoring device 14. The fitness
`monitoring device 14 includes an antenna 30 which receives
`the telemetrically transmitted electrical signals from the
`telemetric transmitter 10. These signals are transmitted, for
`example, as a low frequency wireless link (in the kHz
`range). The signals from the antenna 30 are input to the heart
`rate receiver 31 Each time a heart beat pulse is received by
`the heart rate receiver 31, the heart rate receiver 31 will
`10 output a well defined pulse to the microprocessor 34. The
`microprocessor 34 then uses an averaging algorithm in order
`to calculate the heart rate. Similarly, an electronic pedometer
`circuit 32 provides input signals to the microprocessor 34.
`As the pedometer sensing circuit 32 outputs a pulse per step
`15 to the microprocessor 34, the microprocessor 34 will update
`and display the step counter. The microprocessor 34 further
`receives inputs from the operating elements 20. The display
`18 is coupled to the microprocessor for displaying the
`processed results.
`Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a schematic circuit
`diagram of the electronic pedometer 32. The pedometer 32
`makes use of a piezoelectric sensor 40 (quartz vibrator) for
`detecting the user's body motion at each step. At frequencies
`close to resonance, the operation of the quartz vibrator 40
`25 can be modeled by the equivalent electrical circuit diagram
`of FIG. 4a (as far as the associated electrical circuits are
`concerned). In FIG. 4a, the inductance L represents the
`electrical equivalent of the vibrating mass of the piezo
`element 40. The capacitance Cis the electrical equivalent of
`30 the mechanical compliance of the sensor 40. The resistance
`R represents the electrical equivalent of mechanical friction.
`In addition to the electrical equivalent L-R-C series reso-
`nance circuit for the mechanical quantities, there also is a
`parallel capacitance C1 which is the electrical capacitance of
`35 the quartz element between the terminal electrodes. It has
`been found that the ratio Cl!C normally has a value of at
`least 125, such that Cl>>C. Therefore, it is this capacitance
`C1, together with the amplification performed by opera-
`tional amplifier 50 (IC1:B) that forms the vibration sensor.
`40 The operational amplifier circuit 52 (IC1:A) provides the
`voltage source to bias the sensor mid-point operating volt-
`age. Operational amplifier circuit 54 (IC1:C) functions as a
`low-pass filter/integrator to remove high frequency signal
`components. Finally, the output operational amplifier circuit
`45 56 (IC1:D) functions as a voltage comparator to generate a
`single pulse corresponding to a user's step. This pulse is fed
`into the microprocessor 34 (FIG. 3) for performing step
`counting.
`Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown the circuit diagram for
`50 the heart rate receiver 31. The heart rate receiver makes use
`of a processor or hard wired circuit 60 in order to receive the
`low frequency signals from the wireless belt transmitter 10
`and convert them into well-defined output pulses represen-
`tative of the heart rate to the microprocessor 34. The heart
`55 rate receiver circuit shown in FIG. 5 is a conventionally
`known circuit.
`Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a flow chart indicating
`the operation of the pedometer with the wireless heart rate
`monitor. A reset button 50 is first activated to reset the fitness
`monitoring device. Next, the time mode 52 is selected.
`Within the time mode 52, the user can set 54 the time mode
`via the operating elements. Next, in the time mode 52, the
`user can activate the stopwatch 56 and enter the stopwatch
`mode 58. Within the stopwatch mode 58, the user can set
`personal data 60 particular to their situation. From the
`stopwatch mode 58, the user can next enter the heart rate
`mode 62. During the heart rate mode 62, the user can set a
`
`8
`
`

`

`15
`
`5
`target heart rate zone 64. Also, the user can activate the
`stopwatch 56 from the heart rate mode 62.
`Next, the user can enter the calorie mode 64, the step
`mode 66, speed mode 68, the distance mode 70, or the pace
`mode 72 by cycling the mode/reset button. Following the 5
`pace mode 72, the fitness monitor device cycles back to the
`time mode 52. The fitness monitoring device thus provides
`an electronic pedometer in combination with a wireless heart
`rate monitor.
`Although the invention has been described and illustrated 10
`in detail, it is to be clearly understood that the same is by
`way of illustration and example, and is not to be taken by
`way of limitation. The spirit and scope of the present
`invention are to be limited only by the terms of the appended
`claims.
`What is claimed is:
`1. A fitness monitoring device, comprising:
`an electronic pedometer which electronically senses a
`user's body motion at each step;
`a wireless heart rate monitor including a heart rate
`receiver which wirelessly receives electric signals from
`a user's heart and outputs a heartbeat signal indicative
`of an exertion level of said user; and
`an indicator which indicates pedometer functions of the 25
`electronic pedometer and heart rate functions of the
`heart rate monitor.
`2. The fitness monitoring device according to claim 1,
`wherein said indicator is a visual display for displaying the
`pedometer functions and the heart rate functions.
`3. The fitness monitoring device according to claim 2,
`wherein said electronic pedometer includes a piezoelectric
`sensor for responding to the user's body motion at each step
`and providing a pedometer output signal.
`4. The fitness monitoring device according to claim 1, 35
`further comprising:
`a telemetric transmitter unit for receiving electric signals
`from a user's heart and wirelessly transmitting said
`electric signals to the heart rate receiver.
`
`20
`
`30
`
`5,891,042
`
`6
`5. The fitness monitoring device according to claim 1,
`further comprising:
`a single housing in which said heart rate monitor and
`electronic pedometer are arranged.
`6. The fitness monitoring device according to claim 3,
`further comprising:
`a microprocessor which receives said pedometer output
`signal and said heart beat signal, said microprocessor
`including a program to provide visual display data
`relating to said heart rate and pedometer functions.
`7. A fitness monitoring system, comprising:
`a telemetric transmitter unit for receiving electric signals
`from a user's heart and wirelessly transmitting said
`electric signals; and
`a fitness monitoring device, comprising:
`(a) an electronic pedometer which electronically senses
`a user's body motion at each step and outputs a
`pedometer output signal;
`(b) a wireless heart rate monitor including a heart rate
`receiver which wirelessly receives the electric sig-
`nals from the transmitter unit and outputs a heartbeat
`signal indicative of an exertion level of said user; and
`(c) an indicator which indicates pedometer functions of
`the electronic pedometer based on the pedometer
`output signal and heart rate functions based on the
`heart beat signal from the heart rate monitor.
`8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the fitness
`monitoring device further comprises a microprocessor
`which receives the pedometer output and heartbeat signals,
`said microprocessor including a program to provide the
`pedometer function and the heart beat signal to the indicator.
`9. The system according to claim 7, further comprising a
`single housing in which the fitness monitoring device is
`arranged.
`
`* * * * *
`
`9
`
`