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US 10,932,517 B2Granted
Pressure sensor to quantify work
AssigneeICON Health & Fitness, Inc.
InventorsDarren C. Ashby, Scott R. Watterson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A monitoring system includes a shoe and a sole integrated into the shoe. The monitoring system also includes a connection mechanism attached to an underside of the sole and is shaped to connect the sole to a pedal. A pressure sensor is incorporated into the shoe that senses a force exerted on the pedal when the shoe is connected to the pedal through the connection mechanism.
Claims20
A method for monitoring pedaling, comprising:
- placing a first plate above a second plate in a sole of a shoe;
- determining a baseline distance between the first plate and the second plate in the absence of an upward force or a downward force on the sole;
- determining the upward force based on a user moving the first plate away from the second plate during a pedal stroke resulting in a first distance between the first plate and the second plate, the first distance being greater than the baseline distance;
- and
- determining the downward force based on the user moving the first plate toward the second plate during the pedal stroke resulting in a second distance between the first plate and the second plate, the second distance being less than the baseline distance.
2 more elements
A method for monitoring a user, comprising:
- measuring a first distance between a first plate placed above a second plate in a sole of a shoe at a first timestamp;
- measuring a second distance between the first plate and the second plate at a second timestamp, the second distance being different than the first distance based on a user moving the first plate relative to the second plate during a pedal stroke;
- and
- determining a direction of a force applied to the sole based on a difference between the first distance and the second distance.
1 more element
A monitoring system, comprising:
- a shoe including a sole;
- a connection mechanism attached to an underside of the sole, wherein the connection mechanism is shaped to connect the sole to a pedal;
- and
- a pressure sensor including a first plate and a second plate spaced apart from the first plate to form a capacitor, wherein the pressure sensor is incorporated within the sole of the shoe that senses a force exerted on the pedal when the shoe is connected to the pedal through the connection mechanism, wherein the first plate is located above the second plate, a baseline distance between the first plate and the second plate representing a distance between the first plate and the second plate in the absence of an upward force and a downward force, and the pressure sensor determines that a user has applied an applied upward force during a pedal stroke based on if the user moves the first plate away from the second plate such that the distance between the first plate and the second plate is greater than the baseline distance and the pressure sensor determines that the user has applied an applied downward force during the pedal stroke if the user moves the first plate toward the second plate such that the distance between the first plate and the second plate is less than the baseline distance.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.