Patent ID: 9587959
Date: 2017-03-07
CPC Classifications: A43B,G01C,H02M

Claim:
1. A step-counter device, comprising: a transducer configured to generate an electrical transduction signal as a function of mechanical activity generated during stepping, said electrical transduction signal having a waveform pattern characteristic of a step that comprises, within a given time interval, a first waveform portion immediately followed by a second waveform portion, the first and second waveform portions being of opposite polarity; a processing unit configured to determine a step based on said electrical transduction signal and consequently increment a step count; and an energy-scavenging system coupled to said transducer and configured to generate electrical energy for supplying said processing unit from said electrical transduction signal generated as a function of the mechanical activity generated during stepping, wherein a switching operation of said energy-scavenging system causes a plurality of pulses within each of the first waveform portion and the second waveform portion; and wherein the processing unit is configured to count the plurality of pulses within each of the first and second waveform portions and determine that said step has occurred if a number of counted pulses within the first waveform portion exceeds a first threshold and a number of counted pulses within the second waveform portion exceeds a second threshold.