EXERCISE APPARATUS

Abstract

An exercise apparatus including one or more user-movable members, an electrical energy generator operably connected to the user-movable member, an electrical energy storage element electrically connected to the electrical energy generator, a sensor to sense the use of the apparatus, and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is powered by the electrical energy storage element, receives exercise data from the sensor relating to the use of the apparatus and is capable of transmitting the exercise data to a remote data collection component, such as a server.

Claims

1-29. (canceled)

30. An exercise apparatus comprising: one or more user-movable members, an electrical energy generator operably connected to the user-movable member, an electrical energy storage element electrically connected to the electrical energy generator, a sensor to sense the use of the apparatus, and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is powered by the electrical energy storage element, receives exercise data from the sensor relating to the use of the apparatus and is capable of transmitting the exercise data.

31. An exercise apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the exercise data is transmitted to a remote data collection component.

32. An exercise apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the exercise data is transmitted to a mobile device carried by a user.

33. An exercise apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the communication interface includes an exercise data storage memory configured to store the exercise data received from the sensor.

34. An exercise apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the communication interface is connected to a communications network and the exercise data is transmitted via the communications network.

35. An exercise apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the communication interface is directly connected to the communications network.

36. An exercise apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the exercise data is transmitted by the communication interface at pre-determined times.

37. An exercise apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the communication interface is connected to the communications network via a mobile device carried by a user.

38. An exercise apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the electrical energy storage element comprises a rechargeable battery.

39. A combination of a remote data collection component and an exercise apparatus as defined in claim 30.

40. An exercise system comprising two or more exercise apparatus as defined in claim 30.

41. An exercise system according to claim 40, wherein the exercise system includes a base station, wherein each exercise apparatus is connected to the base station and transmits thereto exercise data relating to the use of the respective exercise apparatus; the base station includes a base station communication interface; and the base station communication interface is capable of transmitting the exercise data relating to the use of the respective exercise apparatus and/or the system as a whole.

42. An exercise system according to claim 41, wherein the base station communication interface includes an exercise data storage memory configured to store the exercise data received from the exercise apparatus.

43. An exercise system according to claim 41, wherein the base station communication interface is connected to a communications network and the exercise data is transmitted via the communications network.

44. An exercise system according to claim 43, wherein the base station communication interface is directly connected to the communications network.

45. An exercise system according to claim 44, wherein the exercise data is transmitted by the base station communication interface at pre-determined times.

46. An exercise system according to claim 43, wherein the base station communication interface is connected to the communications network via a mobile device carried by a user.

47. An exercise system according to claim 41, wherein the base station includes a rechargeable battery and the electrical energy generated by each of the exercise apparatus is stored in base station rechargeable battery.

48. An exercise apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the exercise apparatus includes at least one variable parameter; includes a controller which receives signals from a mobile device; and configures the or each variable parameter of the exercise apparatus in accordance with the signals received by the controller.

49. A combination of a remote data collection component and an exercise apparatus according to claim 39, wherein the exercise apparatus includes at least one variable parameter; includes a controller which receives signals from a mobile device; and configures the or each variable parameter of the exercise apparatus in accordance with the signals received by the controller.

50. An exercise system according to claim 40, wherein each exercise apparatus includes at least one variable parameter; includes a controller which receives signals from a mobile device; and configures the or each variable parameter of the exercise apparatus in accordance with the signals received by the controller.

51. An exercise apparatus according to claim 48, wherein the variable parameter is resistance against the movement of the user-movable member.

52. A combination according to claim 49, wherein the variable parameter is resistance against the movement of the user-movable member

53. An exercise system according to claim 50, wherein the variable parameter is resistance against the movement of the user-movable member

54. An exercise apparatus comprising: an external power source, a sensor to sense the use of the apparatus, and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is powered by the external power source, receives data from the sensor relating to the use of the apparatus and is capable of transmitting the data.

55. An exercise apparatus according to claim 54, wherein the exercise data is transmitted to a remote data collection component.

56. An exercise apparatus according to claim 54, wherein the exercise data is transmitted to a mobile device carried by a user.

57. An exercise apparatus according to claim 54, wherein the communication interface includes an exercise data storage memory configured to store the exercise data received from the sensor.

58. An exercise apparatus according to claim 54, wherein the communication interface is connected to a communications network and the exercise data is transmitted via the communications network.

59. An exercise apparatus according to claim 58, wherein the communication interface is directly connected to the communications network.

60. An exercise apparatus according to claim 59, wherein the exercise data is transmitted by the communication interface at pre-determined times.

61. An exercise apparatus according to claim 58, wherein the communication interface is connected to the communications network via a mobile device carried by a user.

62. An exercise apparatus according to claim 54, wherein the external power source provides energy generated from a renewable source.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0036] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a first embodiment of the invention; and

[0037] FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a second embodiment of the invention

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of an exercise apparatus, such as a recumbent bike, in which a user uses their legs to rotate a pair of offset pedals carried by a rotating drum. The rotating drum is connected to an electrical generator, which in turn is connected to a rechargeable battery via power conditioner which conditions the electrical energy generated by the generator to a voltage and current that is suitable for recharging the battery. Such items of exercise equipment and electrical generators are well known and will not be described in more detail herein.

[0039] In addition to the generator and rechargeable battery, the exercise apparatus further includes a communication interface that includes a Bluetooth transmitter and a data storage memory. Again, such communication interfaces are well known to those skilled in the art and need not be described herein in more detail.

[0040] A user wishing to use the apparatus may have a mobile device, such as a smartphone, which includes software associated with the apparatus.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 1, the use of the apparatus starts with the apparatus in a powered down configuration. The user starts to use the apparatus and in so doing, turns the rotatable drum which in turn rotates the electrical generator and generates electrical energy. The electrical energy generated by the generator powers the communication interface.

[0042] In a first scenario, the user connects a mobile device to the communication interface via a Bluetooth connection. Once connected, the communication interface transmits data stored in its data memory and live (i.e. real time) exercise data to the mobile device. Software carried by the device allows the user to see the live exercise data (such as electrical energy generated by the generator), but not the stored exercise data from the data memory. The live exercise data is displayed on a screen of the mobile device as the user uses the apparatus.

[0043] When the user stops using the apparatus, the software detects this and transmits both the live exercise data and the stored exercise data to a remote data collection server via a communications network to which the mobile device is connected, such as a mobile telephone network.

[0044] When the apparatus has not been used for a pre-determined period of time, the communication interface powers down.

[0045] In an alternative embodiment not shown in the figures, the communication interface is connected to a communications network. In such an embodiment, the user uses the apparatus as described above and the live exercise data is transmitted to the user's mobile device. However, the stored data is not transmitted to the mobile device. At the end of each user session, the exercise data for that session is stored in the data memory of the communication interface. At predetermined times, the stored exercise data held in the data memory is transmitted over the communications network directly by the communication interface to the remote data collection server. In such an embodiment, the user's mobile device is able to display the live exercise data and optionally store this data, but the mobile device does not transmit any data to the remote data collection server.

[0046] A second scenario is also shown in FIG. 1. In the second scenario, a user uses the apparatus without connecting to it a mobile device. In this case, the exercise data is stored on the communication interface. The stored date is then transmitted to the remote data collection server either via the mobile device of a user who connects the device to the apparatus or via the communication interface directly in examples in which the communication interface is connected directly to a communication network. In this second scenario, a local display carried by the apparatus may display exercise data or the user may exercise without being aware of the exercise data.

[0047] A further embodiment is shown in FIG. 2. The use of the apparatus and the transmission of both live exercise and stored (historical) exercise data is the same as described above. The difference between the further embodiment shown in FIG. 2 and the embodiments described above is that in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the user is able to modify the exercise parameters of the apparatus. Thus, the exercise apparatus of the embodiment shown schematically in FIG. 2 includes at least one variable parameter, such as resistance to the rotation of the drum of the apparatus. In this embodiment, the user is able to modify or adjust the resistance of the drum via their mobile device. Thus, the mobile device is able to transmit data to the communication interface, which in turn is connected to a controllable element which applies a frictional force to the drum or a component of the apparatus which is connected to the drum such that the resistance to the rotation of the drum can be varied. In this way, signals from the mobile device are transmitted to the communication interface, which in turn varies the resistance of the drum in response to the signals.

[0048] The user is therefore able to manually vary the resistance via the mobile device or the mobile device may have one or more pre-programmed sequences of resistance values which are transmitted to the communication interface.

[0049] As with the embodiments described above, the exercise data may be transmitted to the remote data collection server directly from the communication interface where the communication interface is connected to a communications network, or via the mobile device of a user.