Social web interactive fitness training

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the fitness industry and more specifically to monitoring an individual's physical activities to capture real time wireless bio-mechanical sensor data for use in comparing actual body generated physiological performance with a customized fitness program. A cloud-based website dedicated to fitness and wellness programs runs an interactive application which wirelessly collects the data and provides algorithmic enhanced data feedback to the individual. A combination of body building muscle specific or groups of muscle specific training videos and nutritional dietary plans can be downloaded as can counseling by certified strength and conditioning specialists and dieticians from worldwide participating websites as it relates to the individual's customized fitness and wellness programs developed from profile data provided by the individual. The fitness website provides links to other website members as well as social networking websites as an added incentive to support the individual's efforts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

People worldwide increasingly aspire to a better life style by intelligent use of fitness training regimens. Many are frustrated with past attempts to lose weight through dieting and/or exercising plans. Essential to successful weight control is the teaching of lifetime good eating habits as a permanent replacement for poor eating habits. Often, proper motivation of an individual's self-esteem through interaction with social websites can provide a powerful incentive to maintain and/or improve the person's level of physical fitness. Unfortunately, too many people when left to their own devices are not very good at choosing and reinforcing good dietary habits. The scheduling of daily available time to devote to exercise can be undermined depending on a multitude of variables, examples being weather, travel time, gymnasium hours of operation and prime time use. Lapses in record keeping also plague attempts to control calorie intake of dieters. Poor or nonexistent record keeping can contribute to ineffective exercising such as under exercising, over exercising, and/or the wrong type or manner of exercising.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention employs body worn and/or exercise equipment mounted inertial sensors incorporating MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System) sensors as part of a highly miniaturized data acquisition system. The motion of any rigid moving object can be described by its six degrees of freedom (6-DOF). The translational elements are its position in 3-D space, the X, Y, Z location referenced to an arbitrary coordinate origin. The rotational elements are its orientation in 3-D space, roll, pitch and yaw angles, also referenced to the same arbitrary coordinate axes.

The 6-DOF data is acquired via the use of ultra-miniature MEMS inertial sensors each incorporating three axes of an accelerometer to acquire the translational data, and three axes of gyroscope to acquire the rotational data. The signals generated by motion of the MEMS devices are controlled by a single Integrated Circuit (IC) which may be 4 mm×4 mm×0.8 mm in size.

The accelerometer portion of the 6-DOF MEMS sensor outputs the instantaneous acceleration along each of the three axes. The acceleration data allows the determination of the force applied by the user. A mathematical integration yields the velocity, a 2^ndintegration yields the displacement, or change in X, Y, or Z from the starting position. In a similar fashion, the gyroscopic portion of the 6-DOF MEMS sensor outputs the angular velocity in terms of degrees per second of rotation around each of the three axes. An integration of the angular velocity yields the angular rotation over the integration period, yielding the instantaneous orientation in space of the X, Y, Z position. The aforementioned parameters represent all that can be known about the 3-D motion of any rigid body.

The small size of the MEMS along with low power requirements allow the devices to be battery powered and body or exercise equipment mounted without affecting or inhibiting the natural body motion to be captured. The unit cost in some instances of the 6-DOF sensors has been reduced to the $10 range while providing high measurement accuracy.

In the fitness and health field, the use of MEMS inertial body sensors integrated with a body carried device or integrated with a Bluetooth enabled smartphone is well known in the art as disclosed by way of example by InvenSense Inc., 1197 Borregas Ave, Sunnyvale, Ca. in U.S. Pat. No. 8,351,773.

The present invention in one form uses a body mounted dongle module such as a wrist mounted dongle module to permit two way radio communication between gym equipment mounted sensors and a wireless remote virtual fitness website. The dongle module is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The dongle module has a transceiver circuit with antenna integral therewith to permit data packet reception of data collected by RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) sensor tags mounted on well known gym equipment devices such as, but not limited to machine weights, free weights, treadmills, rowing devices, bicycles, etc.. The dongle incorporates a MEMS 6-DOF sensor such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,689,378 which issued on Mar. 30, 2010 to Paul T. Kolen and presently assigned to CELLULAR C-Lan Singapore PTE, Ltd., with main offices located at 111 North Bridge Road, #16-04, Peninsula Plaza, Downtown Singapore, Singapore, 179098. The Kolen patent, U.S. Pat. No. 7,689,378, is herein incorporated by reference in total as part of this application's disclosure. The dongle module further incorporates a master cell which receives and controls data packet reception from the RFID sensor tags having the 6-DOF sensor. The use of a picoPAN master cell mounted on a body as contrasted with mounting on sport equipment is disclosed in abandoned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/098,394 (U.S. Publication No. 2008/0252445) to Kolen which disclosure is herein incorporated by reference in total.

The person carried dongle module forms with the RFID sensor tags a C-LAN (Cellular Local Area Network) network.

The sensor tags may be implemented in various configurations suitable for attachment to different types of gym equipment. Those skilled in the art may be expected to recognize that the principle design rule for such configurations is that the form does not interfere with the function of the equipment. An example of a form adjusted sensor tag is one placed in the interior of an exercise weight ball so as to be soft foam cushioned to absorb shock and yet allowing the tag to be easily retrievable for replacement of the battery or nonfunctioning RFID sensor tag.

The dongle module besides forming part of a C-LAN system is part of a larger picoPAN network system. The dongle module incorporates a MIST operating system (MIST being an acronym for Magneto Inertial Sensing Technology) disclosed by the above referenced Kolen patent. The dongle module acts as a local picoPAN controller to coordinate the formation of the personal area network (PAN) of sensor tags and the data transfer between the wireless sensor tags within the network and the dongle module. The MIST operating system can optionally be configured to control an Inertial Magnetic Motion Capture (IMMCAP®) module which adds a tri-axial magnetometer as an additional MEMS sensor to the 6-DOF sensors disclosed in the Kolen patent U.S. Pat. No. 7,689,378 as part of the dongle module. In some instances the present invention invention simplifies the MIST protocol by not using as a MEMS sensor magnetometer.

The user activates a RF signal identifier incorporated in the dongle module as a coded identification assigned the user upon joining the fitness website. The identifier generates a unique identification wireless signal when activated to correlate the exercise data being generated with the particular user profile history received and recorded at the fitness website.

A variation of the dongle module adds Bluetooth® connectivity capability to the module to take advantage of smart computer devices, such as smartphones and tablets having built-in Bluetooth™ wireless interface features. Apple, Inc. has placed Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) support in their iOS 5 and 6 for the iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPad 3 and iPad Mini and iPod Touch 5^thGeneration. Other smartphones and tablets using Google Inc.'s Android or Android Jelly Bean operating system and having the requisite Bluetooth™ wireless interface and BLE support can also have wireless dongle module connectivity. Examples of an Android smartphone include Samsung, Inc.'s Galaxy S® III and LG Electronic Inc.'s Nexus™ 4, 7 and 10. Non-Apple tablets such as the Nexus 7 and Amazon, Inc's Kindle Fire™ HD can also support Bluetooth™ wireless and BLE connectivity. Yet other examples of a non-Apple tablet are the recently announced Microsoft. Inc.'s Surface® tablet featuring Windows® 8 Pro and the Sony Tablet S using an Android Honeycomb operating system.

Another example of a smart computer device compatible with the dongle module is a touch screen laptop powered by Google? s Chrome™ operating system called the Chromebook Pixel™ with one version having both Wi-Fi and built-in LTE wireless technology using a Bluetooth® 3.0 protocol.

Another example of smartphone operating systems compatible with the dongle module are the Blackberry (formerly known as Research In Motion, Inc) smartphones using the Blackberry® 10 operating system which is certified for the Bluetooth® 4.0 protocol. Yet another example of a smartphone system compatible with the dongle module is Microsoft, Inc.'s Windows Phone 8 operating system which uses the Bluetooth® 4 protocol to support data transfer. The Nokia, Inc.'s flagship smartphone, the Lumi® 920, also runs on Microsoft's Windows® Phone 8 operating system.

A Russian company, Yoda Devices, produces a dual screen smartphone using a Google Android Jelly Bean operating system in conjunction with a Qualcomm 8960 platform with a main screen color LCD display on the front side and a black and white reader screen on the back side with a battery power saver feature which only uses power when an image is changed which is also compatible with the dongle module of the invention.

The dongle module of the invention is also compatible with the Bluetooth® connectivity to smart laptops and smart flat screen HD televisions.

Each Bluetooth® enabled dongle module of the invention also has specific apps which may be downloaded either from the fitness training website or an apps store to the above smart computer devices to ensure compatibility with the operating systems of the specific devices.

The present invention is directed to an all inclusive fitness training website which provides to users real time access to virtual personal trainers who are certified strength and conditioning specialists. Additionally, the website provides access to certified dieticians who prepare nutritional dietary plans personalized based on the user's individual profile and goals. The purpose of the website is to assist the user in a regimen of physical training and conditioning and a weight control regimen personalized to meet exercise activity and weight control goals.

The fitness website differs from previous fitness websites by presenting to the user on a web page a navigational tool in the form of an animated human like 3-D figure named an IMAGETRON™. This navigational tool serves as a chapter locator and/or a reference locator for specific exercise video podcasts. The term IMAGETRON is a proprietary trademark of JAWKU, LLC, a Delaware Company. Alphanumeric lettering or numbering is provided on the IMAGETRON™ figure at the location of various muscles and muscle groups. Alternately, other symbols such as a round flashing spot may be used at various muscle group locations. The user activates the particular alphanumeric designated body area of interest to pull up an exercise video podcast menu. To view dietary information and contacts, the user is prompted to click on the mouth of the IMAGETRON™ figure. The IMAGETRON™ figure can be rotated between a front and rear view to show the alphanumeric designation associated with a particular best view of a muscle or muscle group. The IMAGETRON™ figure serves as a gateway to an extensive teaching library of exercise videos in the form of short video podcasts featuring website trainers demonstrating workouts aimed at strengthening and conditioning a particular muscle or muscle group. The viewer is prompted to choose the particular exercise video or videos according to a physical health profile the viewer has provided upon registering as a fitness website visitor. The viewer can click on the alphanumeric number on the IMAGETRON™ figure associated with the mouth to receive dietary guidance prepared by the virtual certified nutritionists who have reviewed the viewer provided health profile. For example, non-meat diets are provided for a vegetarian viewer.

The exercise library features the virtual trainers exercising with equipment typically present in health gyms. Also featured are podcasts of typical home exercises using popular home workout equipment such as stationary bikes, treadmills, weights, rowing devices, jump ropes, etc.. The podcasts also demonstrate a variety of home calisthenics exercises requiring little or no equipment such as dancing or yoga. Both audio and text instructions are provided to enhance the teaching technique of the video podcasts, a particular aid to deaf or visually handicapped users.

The fitness training website is designed to actively interact with a viewer in real time by gathering viewer generated physiological data from the dongle module bio-mechanical sensors worn by the viewer or mounted on exercise equipment. This data is wirelessly sent to the remote fitness website for integration with the exerciser's performance profile history. The website has a web based application designed to accept bio-mechanical data generated by the body/device mounted wireless sensors. The application includes algorithms for any and all required analysis to extract the desired performance data from the compiled raw data in a useful form for feedback to the viewer.

The website has embedded buttons known as “plugins” on at least one web page giving the viewer access to several popular social media websites. Examples of such social websites include, but are not limited to, Facebook®, Twitter®, Google+®, Digg®, LinkedIn® and Reddit®. In this manner, the fitness website gives the user the opportunity to interact and attract more viewers. The viewer benefits by receiving reinforcement and feedback from the circle of friends or contacts developed on such social websites. Additionally, a gift plugin is also on a plugin web page. This presents a marketing opportunity for the selling of website membership and various health and fitness related products as well as non-related products and supplements.

Also provided in the embedded buttons web page is a larger prominent JAWKU social membership button exclusively for the viewer to contact other members of the website. This enhances the user's ability to interact with other website members as well as provide a feedback and reinforcement to the viewer in a social contact setting such as dating. Other examples of using social contact buttons would be for users forming weight reduction competitive teams with rewards, such as recognition, prizes, and/or discount coupons, being offered to the competitors. Other examples may include, but are not limited, to other competitions such as racing events like foot marathons, triathlons or cycling contests. In this manner cross competition with rival social interne fitness websites may be encouraged and promoted to attract a wider website following.

A potential marketing opportunity for such weight reduction competitions would be a prize, as an example, of free 30 day preplanned and home delivered food packages marketed on television by well known industry weight loss leaders.

A potential marketing opportunity for cross competition would be a realty based television series pitting one website's team of followers and the training regime employed against a rival website's team with various brand name gyms and gym equipment being featured.

The fitness training website has proprietary memory banks which contain user provided health history profiles including the collection of ongoing fitness data. This provides a unique opportunity for many “data mining” business opportunities. An example is the collection of a user's zip code, sometimes based on knowledge of the potential buyer's “IP Address”. The zip code data may be used to offer different prices for the same product being offered at the online website by vendors based on knowledge of how far a user's location is from a rival commercial outlet offering the same or similar product. Staples.com, Homedepot.com and Rosettastone.com are examples, reported by the Wall Street Journal, of companies engaged in such zip code based pricing tactics. Another example of data mining is the gathering of browser history from third party “cookies”.

The power of data mining can also be applied to the choice of presenting product price lines geared to the user's profile history to gain an advantage in guiding the consumer given the limited time and attention a consumer may allocate to the pricing of a desired product or service.

The concept of “dynamic pricing” may also be applied based on data mining of discount pricing practices of competitors in a rapidly changing demand driven market.

Data mining based on whether the customer is using a search engine or a social media link can also be effectively employed to influence the level of discount being offered for products or services offered by the fitness website.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an interactive wireless web exercise monitoring system according to one embodiment of the invention having a C-LAN/picoPAN motion sensor system.

FIG. 2 is an example of operation of the master controller dongle module for the wireless sensing network of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a an example of operation of a RFID motion sensor tag associated with the operation of the master controller dongle module in FIG. 2 and the wireless sensing network in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a representative table of smart computer devices known to have Bluetooth® interface connectivity circuitry compatible with the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an interactive wireless web based exercise monitoring system according to another embodiment of the invention having a separate exercise sensor monitoring a variable human physiological parameter mounted adjacent to or integrated with a Bluetooth® enabled master controller dongle module also mounted on the person.

FIG. 6 is a master controller dongle module embodiment of FIG. 5 having an integrated blood pressure/pulse oximeter sensor for mounting on a wristband.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are views of a viewing screen of a blood pressure/pulse oximeter sensor of FIG. 6 with FIG. 6A showing the sensor disconnected from its wrist band and FIG. 6B showing the sensor mounted on a representative wrist band.

FIG. 7 is another embodiment of a master controller dongle module having a range extender dual transceiver for use with an ambient C-LAN network or a smart computer device.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of yet another embodiment of the invention showing the interaction between a person and specific forms of weight equipment having picoPan weight sensor tags mounted on free weights or weight variable machines to identify the weight(s) being lifted in conjunction with a 6-DOF MEMS type RFID sensor tag.

FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram of a variation of the FIG. 8 weight machine embodiment of the invention showing the interaction between a person and a weight variable machine using picoPAN weight sensor tags in conjunction with a 2-DOF MEMS type RFID sensor tag.

FIG. 8B is schematic diagram of a variation of the FIG. 8A embodiment.

FIG. 9 is another embodiment showing a schematic of a “Centroid Location” network geometry of overlapping RF area coverage of a C-LAN slave cell network under the control of a fixed master cell unit.

FIG. 10 is another embodiment showing a schematic of a “Segmented Cluster” network geometry of extended RF area coverage of a C-LAN slave cell network under control of a fixed master cell unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In one form shown in FIG. 1, the present invention relates generally to the gathering of exercise data and to the wireless transfer of such data through the interne to a remote fitness website through the interaction of a picoPAN sensor network with a data gathering cellular local area network (C-LAN) operating at lower radio wavelengths in a defined area which can be a beach or park or a weather protected outside area such as a tent or pavilion and/or an indoor gymnasium.

The defined area can also be the human body with at least one mounted sensor. The picoPAN sensor system may use motion sensors which are body mounted or sensors which are exercise equipment mounted or a combination of both.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a system 100 for gathering of motion data by deploying a network of RDIF sensor tags 2 located in a defined area. The straight double arrows shown in the figures indicated two way wireless signal transmission. Sensor tags 2 are affixed to a variety of well known in the art dynamic or static gym equipment collectively identified as 10, such as by way of example, tread machines, bicycles, cross cycles, recumbent cycles, leg presses, arm press type machines, resistance apparatus, elliptical machines, treadmills, rowing machines, free weights (such as dumbbells, barbells, kettle bars, curls) and weight lifting machines.

The system of FIG. 1 has the flexibility to be adapted to and integrated with specially designed training machines used to condition specific muscle groups considered crucial by elite athletes engaged in highly competitive major sports. Baseball players, for example, strive to condition and stretch crucial muscle groups around the shoulder blades, pelvis and hip joints using such machines rather than relying simply on calisthenics. An example of such a specially designed machine is the “High Pulley” machine manufactured by World Wing Enterprise, a Japanese company that researches and develops advanced training concepts designed to lengthen and loosen muscles while attaining greater flexibility and range of motion rather than shortening and tightening muscles by traditional weightlifting exercises.

Sensor tags 2 are tailored to physical forms not interfering with the functions of a wide variety of gym exercise equipment being demonstrated in video pods presented by the fitness website 8. Various well known means of attachment of the sensor tags 2, such as by way of example, magnetic or adhesive backing may be used. Attachment of the sensors tags may, for example, take the form of pocket holders or other mechanical attachment devices affixed to a gym equipment with the sensor tags 2 inside thereof.

In system 100 a body mounted dongle module 3 performs two basic functions. The dongle module 3 acts as a local picoPAN controller to coordinate the formation of the personal area network (PAN) and data transfer between wireless sensor tags 2 within the network and the dongle module 3 proper. The dongle module 3 coordinates the data transfer and control between the wireless sensor tags 2 and the dongle module proper. A bi-directional digitally encrypted RF data link transfers data between the sensor tags 2 and the master dongle module 3.

The dongle module 3 is worn by an individual 4 and is designed to be belt, arm, wrist or pocket mounted. Activation of the dongle module wakens the sensor tag or tags 2 of the particular machine or weight being exercised to change from a passive low battery power state to an active state which identifies itself and wirelessly communicates raw exercise data to the dongle module 3 over a short range of about 1.5 to 2 meters. Received data is stored in a flash memory 55 of the master control dongle 3 shown in FIG. 2. The user can elect to transfer the data to a nearby smart computer device 20 (shown in FIG. 1) such as a smartphone which acts as a communication modem with the remote fitness website 8.

The dongle module 3 of FIG. 1 acts as a master controller for the C-LAN/picoPAN data gathering operation. The master dongle 3 and the sensor tags 2 have in their housings both hardware and firmware enabling operation on either or both ISM bands on 2.5 GHz or 915 MHz frequencies. The C-LAN enabled sensor tag 2 data received by the dongle module 3 is in real time sent by long range RF data transfer via the internet to the website 8. Once received, the raw sensor tag data is processed to produce algorithmic enhanced bio-mechanical data. Some raw processing of motion data may also be done by the dongle module's microprocessor. As many activated master dongle modules may be in use simultaneously in a crowded gym environment, it is necessary to provide each master dongle module with a unique identification frequency code. Such code is assigned to each user's training website account.

The invention utilizes well known in the art operating system types for control and coordination of the C-LAN/picoPAN data gathering operation. An example of one such operating system is the MIST type operating system disclosed in Kolen patent U.S. Pat. No. 7,689,378 and Kolen US Pub. No. 2008/0252445. The transmission of such data is preferred, though not required to be in real time.

As shown in FIG. 2, the dongle module 3, acting as a master controller, incorporates a microprocessor 5 to collect data wirelessly from each sensor tag and store such for subsequent data processing operations such as data storage and packet formation. A flash memory 55 for temporary data storage may be used with the micro-processor 5. A circular memory (not shown) may also be integrated with the flash memory 55. Either flexible or rigid circuit boards may be used with the module components potted and being encased in a protective foam material which acts as a mechanical low pass filter to protect against dropping on hard surfaces. These circuit boards may be greatly miniaturized by 3-D printing.

The dongle module 3 incorporates, as an interface, Bluetooth® transceiver circuitry 6 to wirelessly relay the processed exercise data through the internet cloud 7 to a remote cloud based server application, such as fitness website 8, and receive data there from. The Bluetooth® interface allows the use of any smart computer device 20 having programmed apps specific to the smart computer device 20's platform.

The smart computer device may be a smartphone, laptop, tablet, etc. to provide long range data transport via any Wi-Fi or cellular provider to the website 8. Some program apps are downloaded on line to the smart computer device to complement preloaded program apps 23 in the dongle module 3. The transceiver circuitry 6 allows wireless digital communication to and from each of the RFID sensor tags 2. The dongle module 3 may optionally include MEMS sensor(s) 19 for obtaining data generated by an activity of the person, such as calisthenics or aerobic exercise motion. These motions may be independent of the motions being sensed by the sensor tags MEMS sensors 28.

Each MEMS sensor 19 generates an analog voltage which must be amplified, filtered and offset corrected under the control of the microprocessor 5 by ADC, DCA, analog signal processing (not shown) contained in the dongle module. A DC-DC voltage converter and regulator (not shown) provide the stable power supply voltages needed by the analog and digital elements of the master controller dongle module 3 from battery 26.

Another component of the dongle module 3 is Bluetooth® enabled circuitry 22 capable of wireless data transfer using, for example, Bluetooth® 4.0 protocol or higher complemented by BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) technology. Appropriate programmed control applications 24 permit hardware and software protocols in the sensor tags 2 to be sequentially scanned once turned on as is the case if sensor(s) 19 is present. A turned on sensor tag 2 is programmed to initiate a search for a turned on master controller dongle module by emitting a search beacon at a default RF frequency. The sensor tag 2 is program timed to place itself in a power sleep mode when such master controller dongle module 3 is not found.

This default RF channel is also used to acknowledge and assign to a new or replacement RFID sensor tag 2 the information required for network integration. The dongle module 3 sends out configuration data to each sensor tag 2. Once the new sensor tag 2 acknowledges receipt of the configuration data, the new sensor tag 2 becomes admitted and integrated into the network 100. A new RF channel is assigned to the newly admitted sensor tag 2 for subsequent wireless communication with the master controller dongle module at a given time slot. As a power source, a rechargeable lithium ion battery 26, such as a lithium polymer type battery, is contained within the dongle module 3.

An on/off control, such as button 27 which may be a flexible membrane, controls power to the circuitry contained in the dongle module 3. The pressing of one button permits the user to activate the dongle module without being distracted by having to make eye contact.

The RFID sensor tags 2 are mounted to various free weights used in the gym. In normal mode the sensor tags 2 are in low power sleep mode to extend battery life. When the weight is picked up, a miniature motion sensor will bring the RFID sensor tag out of sleep and allow the RFID sensor tag to send a picoPAN data packet to the dongle module 3 to announce it is active and who it is, for example a 40 lb dumbbell. Once this data packet is sent, the sensor tag immediately goes back to sleep mode.

When the RFID data packet is picked up by the user's dongle module, an audio beep is generated via an acoustic transducer 25 requiring the user to again press the button 27 which begins the data acquisition process. In this manner the user acknowledges the start of the exercise. If another adjacent exerciser wearing a dongle module also picks up the RFID data packet, this adjacent exerciser simply refrains from hitting the button of the dongle module worn by the adjacent exerciser to avoid the double button activation click. This is an important feature if there are multiple users in close proximity, not uncommon in gymnasiums at peak hours.

The MIST protocol operating system previously identified controls the above master controller dongle module components and other functions such as memory storage, battery status and proper functioning of electrical components. The MIST protocol assures synchronous backhaul so as to preclude self-induced data packet collisions. Programmed control applications 24 control the operation of the MIST protocol. The dongle module 3 has a RF identifier signal unit 79 therein to identify the user by the coded frequency wave length assigned the user by the website. This signal is paired with the data packets being sent the website so that the data packets are associated with the correct user profile.

Appropriate firmware 17 is integrated with the master dongle module's circuitry. An example of such firmware use would be to smooth out the effects of shock and vibration to which the dongle module maybe subjected during certain exercises. Firmware 17 also may incorporate compensation circuitry (not shown) for temperature induced errors to improve the accuracy of the MEMS sensor(s) 19. Also, calibration circuitry (not shown) used primarily for periodic gyroscope adjustments of MEMS sensors is integrated within the firmware.

Details of the RFID sensor tag 2 are shown in FIG. 3. The RFID sensor tag 2 has contained therein a motion detecting sensor 28 such as one of the MEMS type 6-DOF sensor or 9-DOF sensor. Each of the sensor tags operate under direct control of a dedicated microprocessor 29. Each of the MEMS sensors generates an analog voltage that must be amplified, filtered, and offset corrected under the control of the microprocessor 29 via ADC, DAC, and analog signal processing contained within the sensor tag housing. The microprocessor 29 also formats the data stream generated by the MEMS sensors for transmission via a dedicated radio frequency (RF) digital data link. A DC-DC converter and voltage regulator provide the stable power supply voltages needed by the analog and elements of the sensor tag from battery 38. On some equipment, a simpler 2-DOF sensor may be used, as for example, where only two directional movement of a variable weight carriage of a weight exercise machine is being sensed. Appropriate programmed control logic applications 31 are integrated with a microprocessor 29 as part of each sensor tag 2.

The programmed control applications 31 control the operation of the MIST protocol. Optionally, microprocessor 29 can be a data processor having a memory for mass data storage, such as a flash memory for temporarily holding raw motion data and microprocessor refined data. A buffer memory such as a circular memory (not shown) may also be integrated with the flash memory. The sensor tag 2 incorporates an analog motion data converter to digital data form for RF data transmission. A Bluetooth® transceiver circuit 30 is integrated in the RFID sensor tag 2. This circuit permits two way wireless communications with the dongle module 3 via Bluetooth® enabled circuitry 36 in the sensor tag and the dongle Bluetooth® circuitry 22. A bi-directional digitally encrypted RF data link is established between the sensor tags and the master controller dongle module 3. Circuitry 36 uses, for example, Bluetooth® 4.0 protocol or higher with BLE. A power source in the form of a replaceable long life battery 38, such as a lithium ion or lithium polymer battery, supplies power to the components of the tag sensor 2. The MIST operating system previously identified controls the above components of the RFID sensor tag as well as other functions such as a sleep mode for power conservation and data memory storage. The sensor tag 2 compensates for temperature induced errors by having an internal temperature measuring circuit (not shown) integrated in firmware 12. Calibration circuitry (not shown) is integrated into the firmware 12 for periodic adjustment of the MEMS gyroscope sensors 28.

Dongle module 3 maybe incorporated in a wristband with a data display face shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B having a led readout of data such as pulse rate or calories burned based on the total workout recorded in memory 55. This total may be either per exercise set or a cumulative daily total. Other features may include time of day.

To reduce overall weight and thickness of the dongle data display portion of the dongle, the display may incorporate an “electronic-ink” interface using energy saving display technology used for example in the original Kindle® e-reader. This type display is particular favored for bright light conditions. An example of an electronic-ink interface is a wrist band watch developed by Central Standard Timing of Chicago, Ill. and marketed as the CST-01.

In the system shown in FIG. 1, a smart computer device 20 such as a local computer which can be either a hard wired or wireless computer is used to access the cloud 7. Preferably, this computer could be any smart computer device having built in Bluetooth® interface connectivity with the cloud 7. A Wi-Fi or cellular data network based computer may also be used.

As shown in FIG. 4, smart computer device 20 may take many forms. In one favored form, the computer is a smartphone 60 or tablet 62 or iPod Touch 5^thGeneration® 64 such as those identified in the Summary of the Invention. The primary requirement for the smart computer device 20 is that it can support data transmission by having a built in Bluetooth® enabled protocol such as Bluetooth® 4.0 and BLE. Similarly, a smart laptop 66 having built-in Bluetooth protocols, such as Bluetooth 3 or 4 or smart HD flat panel television 68 may be used as the smart computer device 20 of FIG. 1. Use of a smart computer device 20 permits apps to be transmitted for various purposes, as for example to adjust various dongle module parameters for calibration purposes.

Various methods of integration of sensor data can be used by the operating system of the website 8. One method uses a REST service which relies on continually polling for data and uses a JSON format for data. Another method uses a queue containing data messages in a JSON format for events occurring in the operating system of the website. This data uploaded to website 8 is stored in memory 15 as an exercise history 18 and made part of an overall interactive updated user profile history 16. The history profile is available to a certified personal trainer 52 and a certified nutritionist 53 previously selected by the user 4 at the fitness website 8. The trainer has the constantly updating history profile as a tool to effectively interact with the user as a virtual instructor who interprets the exercise data in a useable data form to provide feedback to the user 4 on how best to improve the performance of the particular exercise being attempted.

The website 8, by maintaining for each user an exercise data history, provides a grading tool for any trainer who may be assigned to mentor the user in adjustments to the assigned exercise regime. This grading tool may be used as a measure of the effectiveness of the trainer or spotlight the need for an improved exercise video pod cast. The exercise adjustments may be, for example, to increase or decrease the pace or repetitions of certain exercises or to add or delete certain exercises or to respond to a reported change in the health status of the user.

The nutritionist is guided by the user profile history 16 previously provided to offer suitable customized daily or weekly dietary plans taking into account estimated calories burned based on the exercise data provided. The website 8 maintains in memory for each user a dietary data history 21. This dietary history can be useful particularly to a user trying to reduce weight. The dietary history also is valuable to the medical community, as for example, in developing a more accurate medical profile of the exerciser.

The certified nutritionist's goal is to develop a customized dietary plan which seeks to balance metabolic rate and calorie burn with prevention of lean body mass loss. The physical trainer complements the nutritionist by providing guidance to increase the lean body muscle mass which in turn allows the dieter to increase calorie burn. An individual when dieting loses weight causing the body's basal metabolic rate (BMR) to be lowered. The nutritionist takes into account such factors as age, gender, weight, height, level of physical fitness, and genetic history in determining the BMR for a customized dietary plan. Also factored in are known physical handicaps, medical conditions, such as being a diabetic or having food allergies.

Web based program applications 32 are designed to accept the data generated by the RFID sensor tags 2 and optionally sensor(s) 19. Program applications 32 include algorithms 34 for any and all required analysis to extract desired performance data from raw sensor data via any of the supported methods. Programmed applications 32 incorporate bio-mechanical parameters such as but not limited to details of types of gymnasium equipment 10 being used, the exerciser's body segment lengths, weight, height, age, gender, physical condition rating, physical handicaps and medical conditions.

The programmed applications 32 fuse the relevant data from the personalized personal profile history memory 16 with the 6-DOF sensor tag data to permit accurate analysis of performance as determined by the nature of the exercise goals residing in the memory of exercise history 18. The programmed applications 32 execute calorie burn computations based on factors such as the level, duration and intensity of the exercise workout thereby providing an individual exercise burn rate and a total daily exercise burn rate. Algorithms 34 are employed to continually calculate and update reliable estimates of calorie intake and calorie burn. This permits adjustments in the dietary plan given the website user. In this manner, the nutritionist is provided with an ongoing and continually updated user profile where many important factors such as age, weight and rate of metabolism are integrated for each user in the design of these algorithms as a basis for dietary planning and adjustment. Such a recommended adjustment could be “no cake tonight”.

The individual 4 may access the exercise video pod library 50 through the IMAGETRON™ navigational tool 48.

The programmed applications 32 are designed to provide interactive streaming of data between the training website 8 and the individual 4. Programmed applications 32 are also uniquely designed to be compatible with the training website 8's operating system supporting the website. The double arrows shown within the website 8 of FIG. 1 indicate two way data communication which may be wired or wireless. Worldwide servers may thus participate with the website 8 opening the door for remote viewing of and sharing of associated exercise video pods originating or residing in remote/foreign websites.

Likewise, worldwide servers may also participate with the website 8 in providing a wireless link to participating worldwide virtual mentor trainer and nutritionist websites. New and fresh exercises, for example in yoga, dancing, pilates, cross training, plyometrics and water based gymnastics may thus be introduced to prevent stale content.

The participation of other fitness websites in providing exercise video pods allows the inexpensive sharing of such which introduces new and fresh exercises/tutors to retain audience interest in seeing new techniques/equipment, a benefit to both websites.

This worldwide communication sharing feature opens the well being and fitness benefits of the present invention to all nations of the world. The website 8 can be the basis for a master template model suitable for franchising worldwide. The template would feature modifications to take into account the local customs and cultural preferences concerning exercises and diet of differing ethnic traditions presented as a best practices model.

The exercise data gathering system of FIG. 1 is based on gym equipment mounted RFID sensor tags forming a network in combination with mobile 6-DOF body mounted sensor merged with a master controller dongle module. The highly accurate sensor tags provide advantages of scale as few as one sensor tag is needed per machine to service sequentially multiple gym patrons. Activation of the master controller dongle module button 27 activates the particular gym equipment tag sensor which provides a short range radio frequency signal identifying the type of equipment being used. Specific exercise movement data tied to specific gym equipment is thus uploaded to the master controller dongle module. The master controller dongle module merges this data with a unique personal identification signal assigned to a particular dongle module to identify the user. The master controller dongle module in turn uploads the data generated and assigned to a particular user to a web server in the gym.

Alternatively, the master controller dongle transfers the exercise data to a nearby smart Bluetooth enabled computer device 20, such as one of the ones listed in the table of FIG. 4.

Also, it is possible for the user to use the dongle module memory capability and later upload the exercise data using for example a user's home computer.

The master controller dongle module automatically identifies what exercise is being done, what piece of equipment is being used and routes the data using a smart computer device 20 to the website 8's database for analysis and archiving. The smart computer device uploads wirelessly the data collected using the cloud to communicate with the remote training website. Great advantages in cost are thus derived using the C-LAN/picoPAN network operating under the MIST protocol. Installation costs are minimal and expensive hard wiring of components is not needed. Further, advantages of streaming two-way communication using the visual screen/display capabilities of a smart computer device are generated. The website 8 has through the smart computer device the ability to download specific exercise video pods using the training website's IMAGETRON™ navigational tool.

A modification of the system 100 of FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 5. An interactive web based exercise monitoring system 200 in one simplified form does away with the RFID sensor tag system which used a C-LAN/picoPan network under MIST protocol for a defined area. Mist protocol control is also eliminated. Instead, a single wrist band mounted module serves as a stand alone master controller dongle module 70 which is integrated with a body parameter sensor 80. Optionally, more than one body parameter sensor (not shown) may be mounted on body 4 separately from the integrated dongle module 70 which sensor can be in wireless communication with the Bluetooth® enabled smart computer device 20. In FIG. 5, like numerals have been used to depict like components with the system 100 of FIG. 1. The system 200 differs from the FIG. 1 system 100 in that it relies on sensing the changes in one or more human body physiological parameters. Sensor 80 in one form is a heart monitor measuring changes in blood pressure and/or the rate of blood pulsations and intensity corresponding to each heart beat of the body 4. In one form, sensor 80 functions to take systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings. The data generated by these readings is uploaded through a smart computer device 20 and in a manner similar to the system of FIG. 1 can be wirelessly transmitted through the internet cloud 7 to fitness website 8. Special algorithms at the website interpret heart data collected to monitor the exercise progress of the person 4. Accurate calorie burn is obtained in this manner. Workout intensity and duration are among other data determined from such heart monitoring. Optionally, a MEMS 6-DOF sensor 19 like that used in FIG. 2 may also be incorporated in the dongle module 70 in addition to sensor 80 sensing human body heart physiological parameters. The system 200 may be used indoors or outdoors and can be employed anywhere the user chooses via access to a smart computer device.

FIG. 6 depicts the components of the master controller dongle module 70. A microprocessor 71 receives data from an integrated blood pressure/pulse oximeter sensor 80 and stores such data for subsequent data processing and operations such as data storage and data packet formation. A flash memory 72 for temporary data storage may be used with the micro-processor 71. Other memory devices such as a circular memory (not shown) may optionally be integrated with the flash memory 72. The dongle module 70 integrates Bluetooth® transceiver circuitry 73 to wirelessly relay the processed heart data to a smart computer device 20 for further wireless relay through the internet cloud 7 to the training web site 8. Transceiver circuitry 73 also receives downloaded data from the web site. Such download data may be calibration data for various dongle or sensor components. Another component of the module is Bluetooth® enabled circuitry 74 using an appropriate Bluetooth® protocol, such as 4.0 and BLE to wirelessly transfer streaming data packets to the smart computer device 20 which may be a Bluetooth® enabled smartphone. Programmed control apps 75 are integrated with the dongle module 70 to ensure compatibility with the operating system of the particular smart computer device 20 being used. A rechargeable lithium ion battery 76 provides power for the dongle module 70. A button 77 which may be of a flexible membrane type located on the side or top of the dongle is used to turn on the circuitry in the dongle. Any one of the smart computer devices identified in FIG. 4 may be used with the 200 system. The dongle 70 further incorporates a sensor 80 which preferably combines a blood pressure sensor with a pulse oximeter sensor.

The dongle 70 also has incorporated an RF identifier signal sender 79 for sending a frequency specific to a unique identification code assigned the user by the website 8.

Sensor 80 may in other forms measure various physiological parameters either singly or in combination. These include but are not limited to detectors of heart rate, pulse rate, breathing rate, blood flow, VO₂, VO₂Max, heartbeat signatures and blood pH levels.

FIG. 6A is a view of the sensor 80 of FIG. 6 in an encasing module 81 in wrist band watch form with tabs 82 for a removable wrist strap not shown. A pulse rate is shown as “80”. The time may also be shown in a display screen 83 associated with the encasing module along with the pulse rate or separately as shown in FIG. 6B. The wrist band is formed of a snugly fitting material such as silicone as some tightness is essential to a good sensor reading from sensor 80. Control buttons 84, which may be flexible membranes, permit displaying the time or particular sensor reading or combination thereof as is well known in the art.

FIG. 7 depicts a further modification of a wrist band mounted master control dongle module 3 used with the system 100 of FIG. 1. In place of the module 3 is a range extender dongle module 90. By the term “range extender” is meant the extender dongle module 90 provides a dual uploading capability for the situation where a server is not available. The range extender dongle module 90 incorporates a dual transceiver capability 91. The 1^sttransceiver 92 of the dual transceiver 91 operates on a 2.5 GHz or 915 MHz band to interface with the local picoPan 6-DOF sensor tags 2 and provide long range exercise data packet transfer to the ambient C-LAN network.

A second transceiver 93 of the dual transceiver 91 operates on a 2.5 GHz band and provides a generic interface to any Bluetooth enabled smart computer device such as a smartphone having a Bluetooth protocol circuitry, such as 4.0 operating on a BLE battery power source. The smart computer device runs an apps program obtained from the website 8 or an apps store wherein the app is compatible with the operating platform of the particular smart computer device.

The range extender dongle module is used to gather and transmit exercise data from a fixed picoPan RFID sensor tag system and/or from a body mounted sensor 80 such as that of FIGS. 5-6 which gathers heart exercise related data, such as blood pressure and/or other human body physiological parameters. The range extender dongle module 90 functions the same as the sensor dongle module 3 when using the 1^sttransceiver 92 to receive and transmit data generated by the RFID sensor tags 2. The primary reason for providing range extender dongle module with the 2^ndtransceiver 93 is to transmit motion exercise data outside of the environment of the RFID sensor tag picoPan system and functions the same as master controller dongle 70 as a stand alone dongle. A user who travels widely has the option of exercising with gymnasium equipment not having any RFID sensor tags. The user would follow a predetermined exercise program and merely report daily that the exercises were performed. The website would enter this into the user's profile history using an average of the last five sessions recorded when using a RFID sensor tag system.

Range extender dongle 90 has 6-DOF sensors 19 to collect data generated by aerobic and calisthenics exercises in addition to the data generated by the sensor 80. This dual transceiver system enables the range extender master control dongle module to operate outside of an “ambient” C-LAN network by wirelessly accessing one of the smart computer devices 20 as the interface with the website program application. The range extender dongle module 90 is purely passive in operation allowing it to be attached as a belt clip or put in a pocket or carried on a wrist band. It incorporates a single button 94 to initiate operation. Dongle 90 has incorporated therein an auto-shutdown circuit 95 which is activated automatically if no RF (radio frequency) activity is detected either from the body carried sensors 19 or the fixed place RFID sensor tags 2. This auto shut down occurs over a predetermined time period to conserve battery charge. In the situation where the gymnasium server is malfunctioning, the range extender master control dongle 90 can be used in effect as the server to communicate through a smart computer device with the website 8.

As shown in FIG. 7, major components of the range extender dongle module 90 include a microprocessor 96 which has integrated therewith a flash memory 55, an operation button 94, an auto-shut circuit 95, a dual transceiver 91 having 1^sttransceiver 92 for interfacing with an “ambient” C-LAN/picoPan network and a 2^ndtransceiver 93 for interfacing with a smart computer device and a long life rechargeable Li-ion battery 26. Range extender dongle module 90 includes Bluetooth® transceiver circuitry 6 for the dual transceiver 91, Bluetooth® Protocol 4.0 circuitry 22 having BLE, programmed apps 24 including MIST protocol controls, a RF identifier signal sender 79, programmed apps 23 specific to the smart computer device 20's platform, a blood pressure/pulse oximeter sensor 80 as disclosed in the dongle 70 of FIG. 6, firmware 17, and an acoustic transducer 25.

FIG. 8 depicts a person 4 wearing a pocket clip to mount range extender master controller dongle module 90 while exercising with free weights and variable weight machines. Free weights come in many forms such as barbells, dumbbells, Olympic barbells, kettle bars, curls and weight balls. Some are fixed in terms of weight load and others, such as Olympic barbells, provide for adding or subtracting weights. Some are designed to use heavier replacement weight plates. A sensor tag 2, not shown, is magnetically or adhesively affixed in a recess 307 or other protected area of a dumbbell weight plate 306. The recess protects the sensor tag from abutting weight plates. Sensor tag 2 may also be attached to the inside surface of the dumbbell weight plate 306 of a fixed weight plate. This position minimizes potential damage to the sensor tag caused by the normal use of the dumbbell. Dongle 3 may be used in place of dongle 90.

Another example of a safe location for the sensor tag 2 is a recess 308 formed in the handle bar 309. This location allows the handle bar itself to be the free weight being lifted.

Each dumbbell weight plate has a 6-DOF sensor tag 2 with a unique RFID so as to associate the dumbbell weight with the individual weightlifter. The dumbbell sensor tag is activated from its sleep mode once motion is detected. The 6-DOF sensor tag captures motion data which is stored in the flash memory of its microprocessor 29 until requested to upload the data either automatically or by user request. The data is then transmitted to range extender dongle module 90. Although a pocket clip on module is shown, it is to be understood that other body areas such as an arm or wrist may be used to mount the dongle module. The range extender dongle 90 wirelessly transmits the collected and collated free weight motion data from the picoPAN interface to an “ambient” C-LAN network located in the gym. This network may use existing gymnasium servers such as FiWi or, cellular modems servers or hardwire to transmit the data to the fitness website. The end of exercise may be signaled by the dongle wearer pushing button 94. An automatic shut down circuit 95 activated by a preset timing duration of no activity being sensed may also be used to indicate lack of exercise motion. Once the end of the exercise is detected, the sensor tag powers down and resets for the next user.

In any of the dongle modules 3, 70 or 90, while not shown, it is preferred or even necessary to integrate a “compiler” with the microprocessor of the dongle used to allow the simpler codes of the 6-DOF MEMS sensors to communicate the data collected to the higher level operating system codes embedded in the smart computer devices described earlier, particularly if motion algorithms have been downloaded to the smart computer device.

To the left of the person 4 depicted in FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of one type of a variable weight cable/belt machine 300, such as a leg press machine, using two types of plate stack picoPan sensor tags. Plate 301 is the bottom plate of the stack being moved. Additional unused plates 310-311 remain stationary in the weight carriage bin. In order to determine which plates of the stack are being used in the exercise, each plate of the stack incorporates a battery powered motion sensor tag 302 mounted on a non load bearing side surface. Only the top plate is shown as having the RFID sensor tag 302 affixed thereto. Each plate sensor tag 302 detects when the plate of the stack to which it is affixed is moving to allow the determination of the total weight being lifted. Firmware incorporated in each sensor tag 302 differentiates between real motion and simple vibrations produced by other components of the machine. The battery powering each sensor tag 302 is preferably a primary lithium-ion cell, non-rechargeable, with a useable battery life of one year minimum. In addition to the battery, plate sensor tag 302 includes a motion sensor comprising a combination of a vibration sensor plus single axis accelerometer to capture up and down motion, an RF transmitter plus chip antenna, and a microprocessor which includes the firmware.

The sensor tags 302 wirelessly transmit the weight of each plate that is sensed moving to a single 6-DOF sensor tag 304 mounted on a leg powered link element 303 associated with the particular leg press machine 300. Pivotal motion of the link element 303 shown by double arrow 305 is sensed by the sensor tag 304. The plate sensor tags 302 and sensor tag 304 each have a unique identification frequency to prevent cross talk. Once valid motion is detected by the individual plate sensors tags 302, this information is transmitted to the 6-DOF sensor tag 304. Then the sensor tags 302 are shut down to conserve power. Each sensor tag 304 transmits the unique identification code over an assigned RF channel to prevent cross-talk and to identify itself to the range extender dongle module 90. Cross-talk is also prevented from a multi-station weight exercise machine (not shown) having multiple nearby users each with range extender dongle modules 90 at a different station of the machine doing a different exercise associated with a different plate stack of the multi-stack machine.

Although the individual plate sensor tags 302 are powered down once their motion state is determined, the single sensor tag 304 remains active to allow the plate stack motion to be captured by the 6-DOF sensor incorporated into the sensor tag 304. The plate stack motion data is wirelessly transmitted to the body mounted range extender dongle module 90 for collating with the identity of the exerciser which data is then wirelessly sent to the fitness website. The sensor tag 304 automatically powers down once the end of exercise has been determined. Alternatively, the dongle wearer may turn the dongle off using button 94. The battery associated with sensor tag 304 is selected to last at least one year of operation before battery replacement.

A different embodiment of a variable weight cable/belt machine is schematically shown in FIG. 8A. In place of the sensor tag 304, a two degree of freedom (2-DOF) RFID sensor tag 403 is placed inside the weight carriage bin 400 and is affixed on the top surface of the moving stack weights 401. Stack plate sensor tags 402, 405 affixed to the weights serve the same as sensor tags 302 of the FIG. 8 embodiment to identify the total weight being selected. Each of the plate sensor tags 402 of the stack 401 transmits wirelessly the weight data to the 2-(DOF) sensor tag 403. This data along with the motion capture data of the upward moving stack weights 401 is wirelessly transmitted to the range extender dongle module 90.

In a variation shown schematically in FIG. 8B, the individual weight plate sensors are eliminated. Instead, the exerciser 4 lifts a predetermined weight total generated by the profile goal set by the fitness website trainer for the day. Only the actual number of reps is detected by the 2-DOF sensor tag 403. The RFID sensor tag 403 is preprogrammed to identify the machine as to type of weight lifting machine. Identification of the type of weight lifting machine is necessary to collate the motion data with the body muscle group being exercised, as for example arm, shoulder or leg muscle groups. In the event an exerciser decides to lift more or less weights, then this weight change is reported by the user to the website so that proper adjustments to the calorie burn data for that day may be made in the history profile of the individual. This simplification allows great cost savings.

A wrist band shown in FIG. 6B mounts one of the dongle modules 3, 70 and 90 and is preferably an elastic/rubber or silicone wrist band for a tight fit. Other well known types of wrist bands can also be modified to be compatible with incorporating the dongle modules. The dongle modules and any associated sensors housed with the wrist band are protected by a waterproof covering. Optionally the wristband may incorporate an invisible LED watch readout.

If the sensor 80 is used, the heart pulse rate may be displayed on a small format LCD/LED display incorporating a one to three button array 84 shown in FIG. 6A for real time user feedback.

In a variation not show only a 6-(DOF) sensor is mounted in the wristband with the dongle module separately carried by a person in a pocket or clip on belt. This would require additional components to achieve wireless communication with the dongle module.

Another approach is to replace the battery operated mobile master control dongle module with at least one fixed place master controller cell plugged into a power source such as an ac outlet at the gym. A C-LAN network is established using additional spaced controller cells forming a node network. The spaced controller cells are ac powered and are slaved to the control of the master controller cell. Each slaved cell is monitoring a network of RFID sensor tags thus forming a C-LAN picoPAN network. This approach has the drawback that only the MEMS sensors in the sensor tags 2 provide exercise data.

The network slave controller cells may be distributed to achieve overlapping coverage areas to extend the RF range of the network, such as by way of example, a preferred “Centroid Location” network geometry shown in FIG. 9. Several networks of fixed slave C-LAN cells CØ are placed between the fixed master controller cell and the RFID sensor tags 2. Such slave cells may be either battery operated or plugged in to ac outlets. Each slave cell has an array of gym equipment mounted RFID sensor tags. The master controller cell coordinates the operation of each slave cell.

In FIG. 9, at least one C-LAN master controller cell is in two way short range RF communication with multiple slave cells C1-CØ as shown by the double arrows. Each slave cell controls reception of exercise data gathered by a subset of exercise sensor tags 2. By arranging the individual slave cells in an overlapping RF coverage scheme, referred to previously as a “Centroid Location” network geometry, an advantageous communication redundancy is achieved by which data from the battery powered RFID sensor tags forming the picoPan portion of the C-Lan/picoPan network are routed from the slave cells to the master control cell in real time. Additionally, a cell, such as C5, although out of RF range with the master control cell may wirelessly communicate with the master cell through the overlapping communication with C3 and/or CØ. In practice, the number of slave cells needed depends on the required coverage within the gym or health club. This Centroid Location network takes into account a number of unknown conditions, such as by way of example only, walls, staircases, other structural materials, the presence of possible RF disturbance equipment, the health club size and layout. A proprietary network assembly algorithm maximizes bandwidth while minimizing latency issues. This simpler embodiment takes advantage of the existing server infrastructure of the gym, such as Ethernet/WiFi connection and/or Cellular Modem connection. A preferred power source for the slave cells is existing ac power with the slave cells having an internal AC-DC converter.

In a variation shown in FIG. 10, a network having wide area coverage is possible using a “Segmented Cluster” network geometry of plural fixed slaved controller cells all wirelessly interacting with each other with some reporting to those cells closer in RF range to a single fixed master controller cell.

In some instances, where distance between slave cells is a factor, a string like layout of slave controller cells using the “Segmented Cluster” network geometry depicted in FIG. 10 is possible. Slave dongle cell C2 functions as a communication node for further out of RF range slave cells C8 and C9. Out of range slave cells, such as C5, may also serve as communication nodes for slave cells such as C10 and C11, by being within range of a closer node slave cell such as C1. Algorithms are employed to maximize bandwidth and minimize latency issues.

Any of the person carried dongle modules 3, 70, 90 may be used with the centroid and segmented cluster networks of FIGS. 9-10 where aerobic or calisthenics motion exercise data is desired to be captured using the 6-DOF sensors 19 and use of the heart monitor 80 is desired. The person wishing to exercise in a fixed place master controller cell scheme carries a coded RF identifier module to wirelessly interact with the fixed place slave controller cell and the RFID sensor tag of the particular equipment being used. The master controller cell pairs the identity of the exerciser reported by the slave controller cell with the identity of the sensor tag along with the raw motion data being captured. In this manner, the remote fitness website is able to collate the identity of the exerciser with the type of equipment used and the raw motion data collected from MEMS sensors 19 and 28.

In one form the slaved controller cell is used as an interface with the RFID sensor tags picoPAN network to form a C-LAN network. The C-LAN network enables bi-directional long range transfer of wireless sensor data to/from the slaved controller cells to/from the remote cloud based server application of the fitness website. C-LAN is a small scale, cellular local area network providing machine to machine (M2M) bi-directional data transfer using the MIST protocol within a limited area of coverage. To use C-LAN for data transfer, each slave controller cell operating within the coverage area of the ambient C-LAN must include a transceiver circuit. The transceiver circuit includes a radio physical layer as well as the MIST protocol to coordinate the data transfer. In the present invention, C-LAN is comprised of the master controller cell and the RFID sensor tags with the optional use of additional cells.

An advantage of the fixed master controller cell powered through an ac outlet approach is that as little as a single master controller cell can communicate wirelessly with a few prepositioned ac powered slave controller cells positioned in the gym complex to provide overlapping coverage of the individual gym equipment mounted RFID sensor tags. Such an arrangement permits cell to cell RF range which is both bi-directional and synchronous. An added advantage is that a preferred multi-hop centroid scheme of coverage allows multiple paths for data transfer should there be a malfunctioning slave controller cell.

The user activates a RF signal identifier 79 incorporated in the dongles 3, 70 and 90 as a coded identification assigned the user upon joining the fitness website. The identifier generates a unique identification wireless RF signal when activated so as to correlate the exercise data being generated with the particular user profile history received and recorded at the remote fitness website. Range extender master controller dongle 90 is preferred should the master controller cell or the slave cells malfunction.

In a home gym format the master controller cell with or without slave controller cells may be used to wirelessly interface with RFID sensor tags mounted on home gym equipment wherein the number of exercise devices having tags may be greatly increased as contrasted with a typical prior art Femtocell system which is limited to serving up to four user devices. The term Femtocell refers to an order in size in physics that is smaller than “pico” or ‘nano” and are cellular base stations for individual homes or offices such as those marketed by Ubiquisys Ltd., a femtocell vendor in Swindon, U.K. Another advantage of the master controller cell over a Femtocell system is a wider operating temperature range of −40° C. to +50° C. as compared to 0° C. to +38° C. This temperature range permits the use of the invention either indoors or outdoors as contrasted with the more limited indoor use of a Femtocell system.

Although not shown, dongles 2, 70 and 90 also have mini-USB cable ports used to download data in the their microprocessors 5, 29 and 71 to a home computer.

As used herein, the terms “include”, “including”, “for example”, “e.g.” and variations thereof, are not intended to be terms of limitation, but rather to be followed by the words “without limitation”. Various modifications to the preferred embodiments and the generic terms, principles, features and advantages of the present invention expressed in the written description and figures should not be limited to the exact construction and operation as illustrated and described. Many modifications, changes and equivalents will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and are intended to fall within the scope of the invention which is not intended to be limited to the embodiments disclosed but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.

Social web interactive fitness training

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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE