Abstract:
An integrated system for handling physiologic data includes a portable device (such as a portable media player) configured to wirelessly receive the physiologic data of a person. A host computer is configured to be detachedly coupled to the portable device, to receive the physiologic data from the portable device and to provide, to the portable device, a result of processing the physiologic data (such as suggested behavior of the user).

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of Priority under 35 USC 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/802,889, filed May 22, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
         [0002]    This application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/439,521, filed May 22,2006, and entitled “COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL FOR USE WITH PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES” [Att.Dkt.No.: APL1P492/P4400US1]; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/419,737, filed May 22, 2006, and entitled “INTEGRATED MEDIA JUKEBOX AND PHYSIOLOGIC DATA HANDLING APPLICATION” [Att.Dkt.No.: APL1P493/P4401US1]; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/439,523, filed May 22, 2006, and entitled “PORTABLE MEDIA DEVICE WITH WORKOUT SUPPORT” [Att.Dkt.No.: APL1P491/P4399US1], all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
     
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The use of devices to obtain exercise performance information is known. For example, simple mechanical pedometers have been used to obtain information relating to walking or running. A typical mechanical pedometer is a standalone device merely displays an indication of number of steps taken which, typically at most, can be converted to distance traveled by multiplying the number of steps taken by an estimated average stride size. 
         [0004]    Recently, more sophisticated devices are known. For example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,550 (the &#39;550 patent), a foot-mounted unit, including a sensor for sensing motion of the foot of a user, is configured to provide motion information—wirelessly—to a wrist-mounted unit. The wrist-mounted unit includes a display for displaying information to the user based upon data accumulated by the foot-mounted unit and transmitted wirelessly to the wrist-mounted unit. In addition, as described in the &#39;550 patent, the wrist-mounted unit may be coupled to a computer and/or a network server via a network. The user can operate software running on the computer and/or the server to analyze received data and/or to select operating parameters for the wrist-mounted unit and/or the foot-mounted unit. 
         [0005]    The inventors have realized that a portable media player may be synergistically employed in a system such as that disclosed in the &#39;550 patent or, for that matter, even in other systems such as, for example, systems generally useable for monitoring and/or controlling user exercise or other activity or physiology. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    An integrated system for handling physiologic data includes a portable device (such as a portable media player) configured to wirelessly receive the physiologic data of a person. A host computer is configured to be detachedly coupled to the portable device, to receive the physiologic data from the portable device and to provide, to the portable device, a result of processing the physiologic data (such as suggested behavior of the user). 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a system, including a portable media player, generally usable for, among other things, monitoring and/or controlling user exercise or other activity or physiology. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart illustrating an example of steps, mostly within a host computer, to accomplish transfer of physiologic data between a portable media player and a workout data service. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram that, while similar to  FIG. 1 , illustrates details of example configuration and operation of particular portions of the  FIG. 1  system. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a screenshot that illustrates an example of a user interface of an application (such as a media jukebox application) on a host computer that may be provided to accomplish an account matching between a portable media player and a workout data service. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  schematically illustrates an example of signals involved in an interaction between a host computer and a workout data service with regard to account setup ( FIG. 4 ) and use of an account access token. 
           [0012]      FIGS. 6   a  and  6   b  illustrate, in accordance with some examples, data structures that may be maintained within a portable media player, usable to correlate measurement and/or control of physical activity with playback of media. 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing within a host computer to process user behavior information and other data in the  FIG. 6  data structures. 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  illustrates a user interface screen, caused to be presented by processing within the host computer, to display an indication of some physiologic data. 
           [0015]      FIG. 9  illustrates a user interface screen, caused to be presented by processing within the host computer, to allow a user to choose between physiologic data gathering devices with which the portable media player has been paired. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]      FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a system  100 , including a portable media player  104 , generally usable for, among other things, monitoring and/or controlling user exercise or other activity or physiology. Referring to  FIG. 1 , user exercise data is communicated (in this example, wirelessly) from a data gathering device  102 , configured for gathering physiological data of a user, to the portable media player  104 . In one example, the wireless communication is via an accessory  106 , configured to selectively attach to a data port of the portable media player  104 . An example of the accessory  106 , and the interoperation of the accessory with the portable media player  104 , is described in some detail in related application Ser. No. 11/439,521 filed May 22, 2006, and entitled “COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL FOR USE WITH PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES” [Att. Dkt. No.: APL1P492/P4400US1]. 
         [0017]    In operation, while a user  108  is exercising, physiological data of the user is accumulated by the data gathering device  102  and is provided wirelessly (via radio frequency waves  110 , in one example) to the portable media player  104 . Meanwhile, cues relative to the exercise (e.g., audio cues) as indicated by exercise templates, are being provided from the portable media player  104  to the user  108  (e.g., via a wire  112  and headphones  114 ). In addition to providing the cues relative to the exercise, the portable media player  104  may also be configured to provide playback of media (such as audio media) to the user  108  (e.g., like with the audio cues, via the wire  112  and headphones  114 ). 
         [0018]    The playback of media may be coordinated with the exercise cues. For example, the playback of media may be using a playlist such as created using the iTunes® software application, provided by Apple Computer, Inc., running on a host computer  116  connectable to the portable media player  104 . The playlists may be incorporated with, or corresponded to, the exercise templates on which the exercise cues are based. 
         [0019]    Going in the direction from the portable media player  104  to the host computer  116 , the portable media player  104  is configured to provide physiologic data to a workout data service  118 , for storage  122 , via the host computer  116  and a network  120  such as the internet. In some examples, the host computer  116  operates substantially as a conduit for providing the physiologic data to the workout data service  118  for storage  122 . In other examples, the host computer  116  performs some processing on the physiologic data, temporarily stores the physiologic data for later forwarding (e.g., during a temporary loss of connection between the host computer  116  and the service  118  via the network  120 ), or both. 
         [0020]    In yet other examples, not explicitly represented in  FIG. 1 , the physiological data is never or is only selectively provided to a service such as the workout data service  118 . That is, the physiologic data may be maintained in storage on the portable media player  104 , on the host computer  116 , on both or on neither. 
         [0021]    In still other examples, the physiological data is provided from the portable media player  104  to the workout data service  118  without being provided to a host computer such as the host computer  116 . For example, the portable media player  104  may be incorporated into or, may be incorporated with, a telephone or other communication device that is connectable (e.g., wirelessly) to the workout data service  118 . 
         [0022]    With regard to the workout data service  118  and storage  122 , in some examples, the physiologic data is processed at the workout data service  118 . In one example, the physiologic data from one user is processed in view of physiologic data from other users to, for example, compare the users in terms of the physiologic data. In another example, the physiologic data is processed at the workout data service  118  to determine a suggested template change. For example, based on the processing at the workout data service  118 , it may be suggested to change the clues to provide motivation at a particular portion of the workout. As another example, based on playlists associated with that workout by other users, a different playlist (or changes to the playlist) may be suggested for a particular workout. 
         [0023]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart  200  illustrating an example of steps, mostly within the host computer  116 , to accomplish transfer of physiologic data between the portable media player  104  and the workout data service  118 . At step  202 , it is determined whether the accessory  106  has been connected to the portable media player  104 , which would allow the physiological data to be received by the portable media player from the data gathering device  102 . 
         [0024]    The determination of whether the accessory  106  has been connected is, in one example, via configuration data that is provided to the host computer  116  when the portable media player  104  and the host computer  116  are connected, in a portion of a handshake protocol in which the portable media player  104  provides information to the host computer  116  regarding characteristics, capabilities and/or activities of the portable media player  104 . In other examples, the accessory  106  is one of a plurality of possible accessories, and the check for the accessory  106  is merely part of a check for accessories generally. In yet other examples, mentioned below, processing like that in step  202  is not carried out at all. 
         [0025]    If it is determined at step  202  that the accessory  106  has not been connected to the portable media player  104 , then the  FIG. 2  processing ends. Otherwise, if it is determined at step  202  that the accessory  106  has been connected to the portable media player  104 , or if step  202  is not performed at all, then processing continues at step  204 , to match the portable media player  104  to an account of the workout data service  118 . At step  204 , a check is made for an account for the user at the workout data service  118 . If it is determined at step  204  that the user does not have an account at the workout data service  118 , then the step  204  processing includes causing interaction with the user to set up an account at the workout data service  118 . At step  206 , the host computer accesses the physiologic data, if any, stored in the portable media player  104  (e.g., from a preset location of storage within the portable media player  104 ) and provides the physiologic data to the workout data service  118  to be associated with the user&#39;s account. In some examples, if a connection to the workout data service  118  is not available (e.g., there is no connection between the host computer  116  and the network), then step  206  is prevented from being performed. 
         [0026]    The physiologic data may be provided from the portable media player  104  to the host computer  116 , and further to the workout data service  118 , in an XML-formatted file. In some examples, a portion of the provided data is retained on the portable media player  104 , for easy reference by the user (e.g., during or in preparation for a workout). Communication between the host computer  116  and the workout data service  118  is typically via Secure Socket Layer, using the HTTPS protocol. In one example, a portion of the physiologic data is retained in storage of the portable media player  104  (e.g., the last “n” workouts) and can be displayed via a user interface of the portable media player  104 . Furthermore, while the physiologic data is passed on to the workout data service  118  from the host computer  116 , the host computer  116  may retain some or all of the physiologic data to, for example, display the data via a physiologic data user interface of a music store application operating on the host computer  116 . An example user interface display of the music store application operation on the host computer  116 , including a display of physiologic data, is described later, with reference to  FIG. 8 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram that, while similar to  FIG. 1 , illustrates details of example configuration and operation of particular portions of the  FIG. 1  system. As shown in  FIG. 3 , there are a number of signals involved in interoperation of the portable media player  104  and the host computer  116 . A signal  302  is provided from the portable media player  104  indicating that the accessory  106 , via which the data gathering device  102  ( FIG. 1 ) communicates with the portable media player  104  is or was attached to the portable media player  104 . The signal  304  represents an attempt by the host computer  116 , in response, to access information on the portable media player  104  corresponding to the accessory  106  (i.e., physiologic data provided to the portable media player  104  from the data gathering device  102  via the accessory  106 ). The signal  306  represents the information corresponding to the accessory being provided from the portable media player  104  to the host computer  116 . 
         [0028]    In addition, the signal  308  represents feedback of user behavior information relative to the playback of media (which may also correspond to use/operation of the device  102  that provides physiologic data via the accessory  106 ) and, concomitantly, relative to the exercise cues. This feedback user behavior information signal  308  may be used to modify (or suggest modifications to) the playlists, templates, or some combination thereof, based on the user&#39;s behavior as indicated by the signal  308 . The modifications and/or suggested modifications may be a result of processing within the host computer  116  or, as discussed above, the modifications and/or suggested modifications may be a result of processing within the workout data service  118  (typically resulting from processing of physiologic data from the particular user and related data from a community of users, and not just from processing of physiologic data and related data from the particular user alone). 
         [0029]    It is noted that, as alluded to above, while  FIGS. 2 and 3  illustrate detecting whether the accessory  106  is or was connected to the portable media player  104 , there are other examples in which the host computer  116  and the portable media player  104  interoperate such that the host computer  116  can determine whether there may be physiologic data, from the data gathering device  102 , present on the portable media player to be provided to the host computer  116 . For example, the host computer  116  may initiate a check in a predetermined area of the portable media player  104  storage (e.g., in a particular directory) for physiologic data for retrieval. 
         [0030]    As also shown in  FIG. 3 , the host computer  116  may communicate with a media commerce service  310 , via the network  120 , to accomplish the purchase of exercise templates, which may also be combined with or otherwise indicate associated playlists. In this way, prepackaged workout/song mixes may be purchased. While the templates and playlists are typically purchased, there are circumstances in which the templates and playlists may be provided without cost (e.g., promotions). 
         [0031]      FIG. 4  is a screenshot that illustrates an example of a user interface of an application on the host computer  116  that may be provided to accomplish the account matching (step  204 , in  FIG. 2 ) between the portable media player  104  and the workout data service  118 . The application may be, for example, a media jukebox application such as the iTunes® application, as discussed above. Referring to  FIG. 4 , an application in the host computer  116  displays a setup screen  400  to accomplish associating the physiologic data corresponding to a particular user with an account for that user at the workout data service  118 . As can be seen from the  FIG. 4  screenshot  400 , if the user has a preexisting account with the workout data service  118 , the user selects the radio button  402 , and provides a login ID  404  and password  406  associated with the preexisting account. To register for a new account, the user selects the radio button  408 , which (after selecting the “Done” button  412 ), causes presentation of an account creation page of the workout data service  118 . The user indicates the account credentials (such as username and password) so that the physiologic data may be passed from the host computer  116  to an account at the workout data service  118  associated with the user. As also illustrated in  FIG. 4 , an option (radio button  410 ) is also provided to postpone the account access setup. 
         [0032]    Once an account is matched between the portable media player  104  and the workout data service  118  for physiologic data received by the portable media player  104  via the accessory  106 , account access credentials may be saved at the host computer  116  for later use. The account access credentials may even be saved at the portable media player  104  (to, for example, be subsequently provided to the host computer  116  along with physiologic data). In one example, account access credentials such as login ID and password are not themselves saved on either the host computer  116  or the portable media player  104 . Rather, the workout data service  118  provides back to the host computer  116  an account access “token” that uniquely corresponds to the account access credentials and that provides only limited access to the workout data service  118 , for providing physiologic data to the workout data service  118 . For example, the full account access credentials may provide access to workout data service  118  functions such as e-commerce or other security-sensitive functions, for which it may be considered undesirable to store access credentials on the host computer  116  or on the portable media player  104 . 
         [0033]      FIG. 5  schematically illustrates an example of signals involved in the interaction between the host computer  116  and the workout data service  118  with regard to account setup ( FIG. 4 ) and use of an account access token. The dashed oval  502  represents a portion of the account set up interaction between the host computer  116  and the workout data service  118 . Specifically, arrow  504  represents account credentials (such as user ID and password) being provided from the host computer  116  to the workout data service  118 . An account access token, corresponding to the account credentials) is provided back to the host computer  116  from the workout data service  118 . In operation, to provide physiologic data to the workout data service  118  for storage  122 , the account access token is provided to the workout data service  118  in conjunction with the physiologic data. As mentioned above, the workout data service  118  uses the account access token to grant limited access to the workout data service  118 , for example, for storing the physiologic data and for associated analysis and/or viewing functions. 
         [0034]      FIGS. 6   a  and  6   b  illustrate, in accordance with some examples, data structures that may be maintained within the portable media player  104 , usable to correlate measurement and/or control of physical activity with playback of media. For example, the data structures may include a table  602  and a table  652 . Each row of the table  602  is indexed by a workout id, in column  604 . A workout id refers to a particular distinguishable workout, as now discussed. For example, for a particular workout (identified by a workout id), the column  606  (in one example, including two columns  608  and  610 , as discussed shortly) includes an indication of workout characteristics. 
         [0035]    In the  FIG. 6   a  example, the workout characteristics in column  606  include a template designation  608  and a playlist designation  610 . As discussed above, a template indicates cues, such as audio cues, corresponding to a particular workout. The playlist designation  610  indicates a playlist, defining media playback associated with the workout. 
         [0036]      FIG. 6   b  includes a table  652  of playlists maintained in the portable media player  104 . The column  654  includes the playlist designation for each playlist. The column  656  indicates the media (typically, songs) corresponding to each playlist. The column  658  includes an indication of the user&#39;s behavior relative to the playlist. For example, the column  658  may indicate a workout id, that indicates a workout during which the user played the songs of the playlist (or, songs generally, even if not part of a playlist). As another example, the column  658  may includes an indication of user behavior to override the playlist, such as behavior to cause songs to be skipped. Referring back to  FIG. 3 , this user behavior information may be provided to the host computer  116  such that processing within the host computer  116  modifies playlists, forms playlists, associates playlists with workouts, or other results as appropriate, based on the user behavior information. 
         [0037]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing within the host computer  116  to process the user behavior information and other data in the  FIG. 6  data structures. At step  702 , it is determined if the actual user behavior is different from the pre-defined playback behavior indicated by the corresponding playlist. For example, if the user behavior information indicates that the user overrode the playlist by skipping songs, then processing within the host computer  116 , at step  704 , suggests to the user, via a user interface, to allow playlist to be modified to correlate to the user behavior. 
         [0038]    In some examples, the user behavior information may not be clearly indicative of a definite suggestion at step  704 . For example, the user may have skipped one song each of ten times of processing the playlist, whereas the user may have skipped a second song only one time of processing the playlist. The suggestions may provide gradations of suggestion. For example, it may be strongly suggested to delete the first song (the one skipped ten times) from the playlist, whereas it may be mildly suggested to delete the second song (the one skipped only one time) from the playlist. 
         [0039]    In the next steps shown in the  FIG. 7  flowchart, processing is carried out to suggest associating a playlist with a particular workout, based on the media playback as controlled manually by the user, during the particular workout. At step  706 , it is determined from the user behavior information if the media playback during a workout (i.e., during processing of a particular workout template by the portable media player  104 ) corresponds to a pre-existing playlist. If so, then processing of  FIG. 7  exits. If it is determined at step  706  that the media playback during the workout does not correspond to a pre-existing playlist then, at step  708 , a correlation to the workout (i.e., to the template) is suggested. If the user agrees then, at step  710 , the media playback is associated with a playlist, and that playlist is associated with the workout. 
         [0040]    As mentioned above, in some examples, physiologic data provided from a portable media player (such as the portable media player  104 ) to a workout data service (such as the workout data service  118 ) may be provided through a host computer (such as the host computer  116 ).  FIG. 8  illustrates a user interface screen, caused to be presented by processing within the host computer, to display an indication of some of the physiologic data, namely, the physiologic information of the “last workout” in a portion  802  of the user interface screen. (This is just an example. An indication of other of the physiologic data may be displayed.) In addition to the information such as date, distance, pace and calories, the “last workout” information includes an indication  804  of the media playlist associated with that workout. It is also of note that processing within the host computer  116  may also operate to automatically send the physiologic data to the workout data service  118  (e.g., accompanied by the access token discussed above, relative to  FIG. 5  and the discussion of account set up with the workout data service  118 ), without ongoing user intervention. The user may control whether this automatic operation takes place via the check box  806  in the  FIG. 8  user interface screen. This check box  806  would be initially unchecked if the user previously chose for physiologic data not to be sent at all to the workout data service  118 , e.g. During initial setup ( FIG. 4 ). 
         [0041]    While much of the previous description has described methods, applications and systems in the context of a single physiologic data gathering device, it has been mentioned above that there may be more than one physiologic data gathering device.  FIG. 9  illustrates a user interface screen, caused to be presented by processing within the host computer, to allow a user to choose between physiologic data gathering devices with which the portable media player has been paired. 
         [0042]    A menu item  902 , in this case a pull down menu item, is provided to allow the user to choose which physiologic data gathering devices (listed as “sensors”) for which data is to be considered and/or otherwise handled from within the application executing in the host computer. In  FIG. 9 , the “Sensor 1” item  904  is checked. In addition, a user interface item  906  is provided to allow the user to edit the name ascribed to a particular physiologic data gathering device, relative to the application executing in the host computer. 
         [0043]    In summary, then, we have described an overall architecture of a system, including a portable media player, generally usable for, among other things, monitoring and/or controlling user exercise or other activity or physiology. In addition, we have described how an application of a host computer, such as a media store application, operates in the context of such a system.