Portable fitness monitoring systems with displays and applications thereof

#The present invention generally relates to fitness monitoring systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to portable fitness monitoring systems with displays, and applications thereof.

#Exercise is important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and individual well-being. Accordingly, many individuals want to participate in an exercise program. The most successful exercise programs may be ones tailored to a fitness level of an individual and aimed at assisting the individual to achieve one or more specific fitness or exercise goals. Information about the individual's progress toward achieving their goals may be collected using sensors for measuring various physical and/or physiological parameters associated with the individual's physical activity.

#Amateur and professional athletes alike have begun paying greater attention to specific heart rates (i.e. heart beats per minute) achieved during exercise, as recommended by their trainers and other programs. While in some cases it may not be critical that the exercising individual establish a precise heart rate, the individual may want to maintain their heart rate within desired ranges throughout their physical activity to achieve specific fitness goals. Technology has resulted in the development of portable heart rate monitors that can detect the individual's heart rate and provide a variety of outputs indicative thereof.

#The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate the present invention by way of example, and not by way of limitation, and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the invention.

#FIG. 1 is an illustration of an athlete using a portable fitness monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

#FIG. 2 is an illustration of a strap attached to the wrist of an athlete according to an embodiment of the present invention.

#The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. References to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “an example embodiment”, etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

#FIG. 1 is a diagram of an athlete 102 using a portable fitness monitoring system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The fitness monitoring system 100 may be used to provide performance feedback to an athlete 102. In one embodiment, the performance feedback may be provided by displaying to the athlete an indication of one or more performance zones based on one or more performance parameters associated with the athlete's 102 physical activity.

#As depicted in FIG. 1, in one embodiment, the monitoring system 100 includes an article for wearing 110, a display module 140, and a sensor 180. The article for wearing 110 may be releasably secured to the body of the athlete 102, and the display module 140 may be releasably secured to the article for wearing 110. The display module 140 and the sensor 180 may communicate over a wireless communications network. In one embodiment, the display module 140 and the sensor 180 may communicate using a low-power wireless communications protocol and form part of a wireless personal area network (WPAN). For example, the components of the monitoring system 100 may communicate over a network using one or more of the following protocols: ANT, ANT+Sport by Dynastream Innovations, Bluetooth Low Energy Technology, Zigbee, Simplicity or BlueRobin. Other known communication protocols suitable for a fitness monitoring system may be used.