DISPLAY DEVICE FOR AN EXERCISE APPARATUS

Abstract: An exercise apparatus such as a treadmill comprising a display (12), a display controller (11), and a user input (13), operably in communication with one another to enable the user to interact with prompts on the display, wherein the display controller (11) comprises a processor programmed to drive the display, and a memory for storing labelled screen objects representative of an image, such an alpha-numeric string, word or logo, for presentation on the display such that a screen object is selectable from the memory by the controller (11) using the label hence enabling display of the image. The visual image of screen object can be changed, for example to enable use of different languages, whilst still retaining the same label for the screen object and hence the same processor program to drive the display. For example, the word "calories" in English can be changed to "Kalorien" in German, or "time" to "heure" in French, by changing the image data for a labelled screen object.

Description: DISPLAY DEVICE FOR AN EXERCISE APPARATUS The invention relates to displays and exercise apparatus and in particular to improvements in displays for such exercise apparatus. It is known to provide a display on exercise apparatus such as a treadmill, which provides a user with information about his or her work out. For example, the display can provide details of the speed at which a user is running, the number of calories used during the workout, the distance covered during the workout, and/or the elapsed time of the workout. However, such displays rely on image details and commands embedded in the program which runs a display controller and which are not separable therefrom. This requires that a new program for the graphics controller is required for example if the images displayed to the user are to be in a different language, say French or German, to that used by the first program, say English. Additionally, a large amount of controller memory is required in order to enable a large number of different visual images. The invention seeks to provide a simplified display system and exercise apparatus enabling lower memory requirements for relatively complicated graphical images as well as easier conversion of the displayed image from one language to another. However, the invention also seeks to provide other improvements in display apparatus and exercise apparatus as set out below. According to one aspect of the invention there is provided exercise apparatus such as a treadmill comprising a display, a display controller, and a user input, operably in communication with one another to enable the user to interact with prompts on the display, wherein the display controller comprises a processor programmed to drive the display, and a memory for storing labelled screen objects representative of an image, such as an alpha-numeric string, word or logo, for presentation on the display such that a screen object is selectable from the memory by the controller using the label hence enabling display of the image. Beneficially therefor the visual image of screen object can be changed, for example to enable use of different languages, whilst still retaining the same label for the screen object and hence the same processor program to drive the display. For example, the word "calories" in English can be changed to "kalorien" in German, or "time" to "heure" in French, by changing the image data for a labelled screen object. This further provides the advantage that a memory separate from the processor such as an EPROM can be used for storing the screen objects. The memory can thus be pre-programmed for different languages and can be inserted into the exercise apparatus at manufacture or replaced at a later date. Preferably the memory comprise a screen object data structure and a pointer table (sopt) which can be used to address the screen objects externally from the memory. Preferably the labelled screen object comprises an array of data including image data such as a pixel array or bitmap image, the image width, height, and pixel colours. Preferably the screen objects comprise one or more components of data and a pointer table (socpt) within the memory can be used to point to the data structure for a particular component. Thus the same pixel data can be used for several screen objects for example. These components are preferably not directly addressed by command to the controller. Thus, the screen image data, that is the pixel array data, can be stored separately to other screen object data or components. Hence only one bitmap or pixel array data set needs to be saved in the memory for example for the image "1 " or the word "time" for example. Beneficially, different types of screen objects are possible, and can therefore be categorised (and hence addressed) according to type, such as a so-called "simple" screen object consisting of a single section of data only comprising one or more fixed components. A so-called "complex" screen object can consist of say two sections of data of up to say 127 fixed components thus enabling generation of an image representative of a running track to be provided on the display, or for example for time to consist of several changable digits and one or more fixed decimal points, or colours. A further category of screen object can be labelled special and comprise simple line screen objects or block screen objects which literally generate line or block images on the display. Preferably, the controller comprises means to enable screen objects to vary in appearance, for example enabling an image to flash on and off, or to provide an animated display such as an indication of a user's progress around the running track, varying gradient elevation of a treadmill, or progress along a predetermined route for example. According to another aspect of the invention there is provided exercise apparatus comprising a display, a display controller and an input for communicating a user's heart rate to the controller which in turn provides a visual representation of the heart rate to the user which representation alters in appearance, for example flashing on and off, varying in intensity, increasing or decreasing in size, or moving at a frequency dependant on the user's heart rate. Preferably the visual representation is a graphical image of a heart and/or an alpha-numeric representation of the heart rate. Preferably the alteration frequency changes in increments for example there being a first frequency below a first predetermined user's heart rate and a second alteration frequency above the first predetermined heart rate. Also, a third alteration frequency can be provided above a second predetermined heart rate. The first and/or second predetermined heart rate can be selectable by a user in order to enable the user to define a range of heart rates within which the user wishes to work during the workout. For example, the alteration frequency can be low below the first predetermined heart rate, zero between the first and second predetermined heart rate and fast above the second predetermined heart rate, such as a hundred beats per second say. According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided exercise apparatus comprising a display, a display controller and a user input wherein the controller measures a feature of a user's workout such as time, and operably communicates with the display to provide the user with a visual image representative of the feature of the user's workout, the input enabling the user to pause his or her workout and freeze the value of the feature until he or she resumes the workout. The measured feature can for example be the number of calories used, the distance run, the elevation of the apparatus, the position on a circuit that shows a 400 metre lap or other training programmes such a trail run, staircase run, cross country run or peak run for example. A yet further aspect of the invention povides display apparatus comprising any one or combination of the above inventive features. An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- FIGURE 1 is a schematic front elevation of the. display console according to the invention; FIGURE 2 is a schematic block diagram of various electrical components forming the console shown in Figure 1 ; FIGURE 3 is a simplified block diagram of the console shown in Figure 2 in communication with an apparatus controller; and FIGURES 4 to 10 give examples of the appearance of a display according to the invention in use. Referring to the drawings there is shown an embodiment of the invention comprising a display console 10 attachable to exercise apparatus such as a treadmill for example. The console comprises a display controller 11 shown in detail in Figure 2, which drives display 12 which can for example be a 240 x 320 pixel, seven or sixteen colour, TFTLCD display. The console 10 further carries a user input 13 which can comprise a range of buttons such as shown in Figure 1 but additional input such an emergency stop button (not shown) and/or a user heart rate input (not shown) can also be provided for communication to display controller 11, (or controller 52). Referring to Figure 1 there is shown a stop button 14, start button 16, an increase and decrease elevation (of a treadmill) buttons 18 and 20 respectively, and an increase and decrease speed buttons 22 and 24 respectively. Additionally, four input buttons 26a, 26b, 26c and 26d, are provided adjacent display 12 to enable a user to respond to prompts provided proximal a relevant button in display 12. A further input or communication channel 28 is provided which can be interfaced with display controller 11 by an interface 50 such as an RS485 interface enabling serial asynchronous communications and a dedicated link for example between a processor 30 and a controller such as apparatus controller 52 remote from display console 10. For example, apparatus controller 52 can be used to drive a treadmill and report the length of time of operation of the treadmill, for example during a workout, the distance travelled on the treadmill, again during a workout or in total such as from manufacture, thereby enabling calculation of the speed of pace of operation of the treadmill in use which can be communicated to processor 30. Turning to Figure 2, the display controller 11 is shown in some detail as comprising a screen object EPROM 32 for storing images, such as bitmap images, and position data for example, as described in further details below. A display timing generator 34 operably communicates with display 12 to provide horizontal and vertical synchronization during master scanning of the display. The display timing generator 34 also communicates with multiplexer 38 to refresh the addresses whilst processor 30 communicates random addresses to add latch 36 which in turn communicates with multiplexer 38. Accordingly the addresses are passed on to pixel background EPROM 40 and pixel foreground RAM 48. Pixel background EPROM 40 allows display timing generator 34 to communicate with video mix 42 as shown. Further, processor 30 and screen object EPROM 32 communicate with pixel data latch 46 which in turn communicates with pixel foreground RAM 48. Processor 30, which can for example be an Hitachi microprocessor H8-325, is further programmed to communicate with video mix 42 to select which of the RAM 48 and EPROM 40 are on. Finally video-mix 42 generates a six line output representative of red, bright red, green, bright green, blue and bright blue, to a digital to analogue convenor 44 which in turn communicates with the display 12. Images to be displayed on display 12 are preferably stored as screen objects in EPROM 32. Accordingly each screen object is identified by a label such as a name or number which can be used by either apparatus controller 52 and/or independently by processor 30 depending on the respective programming and/or existence of these devices. EPROM 32 preferably comprises a screen object pointer table which records the address for each stored screen object identifiable by said label. Each screen object file comprises information about the number of components, and the position in which the objects should be displayed on display 12. In some instances, the screen object actually contains the pixel bit map for the display but in other instances, in order to enable multiple displays, such as the display of different times, the screen object defines the position of a component and for example processor 30 determines what image should be displayed as part of the screen object. For example, time can usefully be represented on display 12 as both a word image "time" as one screen object and five variable digits and two fixed components in the form of colons to be displayed thus:- 1 : 12:32 for example representing one hour, twelve minutes and thirty two seconds. The screen object for the digital array therefore comprises five variable components two fixed components as well as co-ordinate information for each component. The variable components can be derived from other stored screen objects such as a bit map for each of the digits 0 through to 9. Thus a command from processor 30 to display the time one hour twelve minutes and thirty two seconds is generates the display shown above at the appropriate position on display 12. Shorter times such as one minute and twelve seconds can appear thus:- 1 : 12 and accordingly since no hours and no tens of minutes have elapsed, they are not displayed and nor is the left hand colon. Also stored under the screen object can be the colour, width and height of the image. Preferably EPROM 32 comprises a component look up table (socpt). Referring to Figure 4 there is shown a position of a screen display for presentation to a user on display 12. The main part of the screen can be saved as a bit map in EPROM 32 to enable the display of the image including "Welcome to the POWERJOG (registered Trade Mark) program selection" and so on. Additionally screen objects can be superimposed on this background including the rectangular objects surrounding each of the expressions "POWERJOG" (Registered Trade Mark) "WALK" for example, as well as the other images of "next", "next", and "exit". Accordingly, the processor 30 is programmed to generate the image shown in Figure 4 when for example start button 16 is pressed by a user. Accordingly, each of the screen objects such as "next" is called from EPROM 32 and displayed on display 12. The user interacts with the console or system 10 using input buttons 26 for example by pressing button 26c adjacent to the word "next" the user is able to move a rectangular object from one program selection to the next. Accordingly, by pressing button 26c once, screen object * L 601 surrounding the term "POWERJOG (registered Trade Mark) WALK", stops flashing (its start up setting) and becomes fixed whilst the screen objects * L602 starts to flash around the words "POWERJOG (registered Trade Mark) JOG". Once the user has chosen the required program the user can press button 26a to "select" the program. For example by selecting the program "POWERJOG (registered Trade Mark) HILLS" the screen shown in Figure 5 can be displayed. Again a basic background display made up of a bit map can be used to provide the majority of the image and additional screen objects including the rectangles around different training programs and the three words ".select", "back", and. "next" at the bottom of the image can be selected from. EPROM 32; As can be seen from Figure 5, each of the rectangles are the same size in colour and principally the screen objects surrounding the different programmes only differs in the co-ordinate position on the display. The screen object "select" and "next" are identical to those used in the previous screen. If a user selects the program "trailrun", then th§ image shown in Figure 6 will be displayed on display 12. The graphic representation of the different elevations for the treadmill shown at the top of the display is an image constructed by many different screen objects each of which comprises a rectangular block. The screen object defines the x and y co-ordinate start positions, the width and height of the block as well as the number of colour options and the colours for the block. Accordingly, the progress of a user can be indicated by changing the colour of a block once the user has entered or completed that section of the training program. Beneficially, the section used can be flashed to indicate a user's present position within the overall training program. In addition to the progress indicator against the schematic elevation image, a simple block can be used to show the percentage of a program completed as shown at * B 701. Further, another example of a block image is shown in relation to the graphical representation of the gradient where the triangular representation is filled by a block screen image in proportion to the percentage of the maximum elevation achieved by the treadmill. The image shown in Figure 6 further comprises the screen object "pause" which will toggle between "pause" and "resume" when a user presses button 26a. Beneficially, processor 30 (or controller 52) is programmed to store or freeze various current data about a workout once a user pauses the system. Therefore, when the user again presses button 26a, the system is resumed and the stored values, for example the total number of calories used in a workout, or the distance travelled during the workout, are restored on the display 12 on command from apparatus controller 52 in accordance with the resumed workout. The image shown in Figure 6 also offers the user the possibility of changing the scale of the distance displayed between metres and miles by pressing 26b. Similarly speed and pace can be selected by pressing button 26c. Figure 7 shows an example of a screen display for a straightforward distance program where a user has selected a distance to run. Beneficially, the distance remaining can be displayed in a numeric value which decreases in accordance with the actual workout and similarly a block progress indicator * B701 can also be provided here. Referring to Figures 8 and 9 there is shown a further example of a possible display providing a graphical representation of a running track in the form of an oval made up of many different screen objects. This enables the position of a user to be represented graphically as moving around the track for example by representing the user as a red block and the rest of the components of the track as yellow. Comparing Figures 8 and 9, it can be seen that the user is able to toggle between his or her heart rate and gradient by pressing button 26b. However, it is possible to provide a scan option and button 26a for example can be provided to toggle between hold or scan where the latter can also toggle the time and calories, and pace with speed. As can be seen by comparing Figures 8 and 9, for example the speed numerals can be identified as screen objects 501 for either display. Similarly, the text images such as "speed" or "calories" can be identical for each screen. In addition to enabling the number of laps completed and the position of the user around the track to be represented using the graphics system, a visual indication of heart rate can be provided for example at image 67. The processor 30 is able to flash the image of the heart 67 on and off. This can be achieved by processor 30 alternately drawing and erasing heart image 67. For example, this can be useful where a user's heart rate is outside a preset band or range. The frequency at which the heart rate flashes can for example be quite low when the user's heart rate is below the desired workout range, and quite fast, 100 Hertz, when the user's heart rate goes above the desired range. Finally, there is shown in Figure 10 a simple numeric display showning speed, calories, distance, gradient and heart rate. Again the graphical representation of the user's heart rate in the form of screen object 69 can be used which image comprises the basic pixel array data or bitmat shown as screen object 67 in Figure 8 excepts the screen object 6a as a different x and y starting co-ordinate position on display 12. Again, image 69 can be flashed on and off as described earlier. Also, whilst most exercise information is displayed on Figure 10, it is still possible for the user to toggle between difference data such as between miles and metres by pressing keys 26b, or between pace and speed by pressing button 26c, similarly, the user can toggle between time and calories by pressing button 26d.

Claims: Claims 1. An exercise apparatus such as a treadmill comprising a display, a display controller, and a user input, operably in communication with one another to enable the user to interact with prompts on the display, wherein the display controller comprises a processor programmed to drive the display, and a memory for storing labelled screen objects representative of an image, such as an alpha-numeric string, word or logo, for presentation on the display such that a screen object is selectable from the memory by the controller using the label hence enabling display of the image. 2. Apparatus according to Claim 1 comprising means to enable the visual image of a screen object to be changed, for example to enable use of different languages, whilst still retaining the same label for the screen object and hence the same processor program to drive the display. 3. Apparatus according to Claims 1 or 2 comprising a memory, such as an EPROM, separate from the processor for storing the screen objects. 4. Apparatus according to Claim 3 wherein the memory is pre-programmed for a specific language and means is provided to enable the memory to be inserted into the exercise apparatus at manufacture or replaced at a later date. 5. Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the memory comprises a screen object data structure and a pointer table (sopt) which can be used to address the screen objects externally from the memory. 6. Apparatus according, to any preceding claim wherein a labelled screen object comprises an array of data including image data such as a pixel array or bitmap image, the image width, height, and pixel colours. 7. Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the screen objects comprise one or more components of data and a pointer table (socpt) within the memory can be used to point to the data structure for a particular component, preferably enabling the same pixel data to be used for several screen objects for example. 8. Apparatus according to Claim 7 wherein the components are not directly addressed by command to the controller. 9. Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the screen image data, that is the pixel array data, can be stored separately to other screen object data or components. 10. Apparatus according to Claim 9 wherein only one bitmap or pixel array data set is saved in the memory, such as for the image "1 " or the word "time" for example. 11. Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein different types of screen objects are categorised, and hence addressable according to type, such as a (simple) screen object type consisting of a single section of data only comprising one or more fixed components. 12. Apparatus according to Claim 11 comprising a (complex) screen object consisting of (say) two sections of data of up to (say) 127 fixed components thus enabling generation of an image representative of a running track to be provided on the display, or for example for time to consist of several changable digits and one or more fixed decimal points, or colours. 13. Apparatus according to Claim 11 or 12 comprising a (special) screen object comprising a simple line screen objects or block screen objects which generate line or block images on the display. 14. Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the controller comprises means to enable screen objects to vary in appearance, for example enabling an image to flash on and off, or to provide an animated display such as an indication of a user's progress around the running track, varying gradient elevation of a treadmill, or progress along a predetermined route for example. 15. Exercise apparatus comprising a display, a display controller and an input for communicating a user's heart rate to the controller which in turn provides a visual representation of the heart rate to the user which representation alters in appearance, for example flashing on and off, varying in intensity, increasing or decreasing in size, or moving at a frequency dependant on the user's heart rate. 16. Apparatus according to Claim 15 wherein the visual representation comprises a graphical image of a heart and/or an alpha-numeric representation of the heart rate. 17. Apparatus according to Claim 15 or 16 wherein the alteration frequency changes in increments. 18. Apparatus according to Claim 17 wherein the alteration frequency is a first frequency below a first predetermined user's heart rate and a second alteration frequency above the first predetermined heart rate. 19. Apparatus according to Claim 18 wherein a third alteration frequency is provided above a second predetermined heart rate. 20. Apparatus according to Claim 18 or 19 wherein the first and/or second predetermined heart rate is selectable by a user in order to enable the user to define a range of heart rates within which the user wishes to work during a workout. 21. Apparatus according to Claim 20 wherein the alteration frequency is relatively low below the first predetermined heart rate, and/or zero between the first and second predetermined heart rate, and/or fast above the second predetermined heart rate, such as a hundred beats per second say. 22. Exercise apparatus comprising a display, a display controller and a user input wherein the controller measures a feature of a user's workout such as time, and operably communicates with the display to provide the user with a visual image representative of the feature of the user's workout, the input enabling the user to pause his or her workout and freeze the value of the feature until he or she resumes the workout. 23. Apparatus according to Claim 22 wherein the measured feature can for example be any one or combination of; the number of calories used, the distance run, the elevation of the apparatus, the position on a circuit that shows a 400 metre lap or other training programmes such a trail run, staircase run, cross country run or peak run for example. 24. Apparatus comprising the features of any individual Claim 1 to 23 in combination with any feature of any other of Claims 1 to 23. 25. Display apparatus for any display purpose other than for exercise apparatus having the features of any one of Claim 1 to 24.

Inventors: TAYLOR IAN STUART, WALKER MALCOLM JAMES, TAYLOR, IAN, STUART, WALKER, MALCOLM, JAMES
Applicants: SPORT ENGINEERING LIMITED, TAYLOR IAN STUART, WALKER MALCOLM JAMES, TAYLOR, IAN, STUART, WALKER, MALCOLM, JAMES
Application year: 1998
Main classification: A63B24
IPC codes: A61B5, A63B22, A63B24, G09G5