Patent Publication Number: US-10765914-B1

Title: Real time isokinetic torque exercise data monitoring

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/603,886, filed on May 24, 2017 by Michael Linn Trexler entitled Real Time Isokinetic Torque Exercise Data Monitoring., which is a continuation in part of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/340,748, filed on May 24, 2016 by Michael Linn Trexler entitled Real Time Isokinetic Torque Exercise Data Monitoring. These prior applications are incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable. 
     REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable. 
     RESERVATION OF RIGHTS 
     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to intellectual property rights such as but not limited to copyright, trademark, and/or trade dress protection. The owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records but otherwise reserves all rights whatsoever. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to improvements in exercise equipment. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements particularly suited for isokinetic power monitoring of individual repetitions of an exercise program. 
     2. Description of the Known Art 
     As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, exercise machines are known in various forms. Patents disclosing information relevant to exercise include: U.S. Pat. No. 9,539,467, issued to Hashish on Jan. 10, 2017 entitled Exercise system for shifting an optimum length of peak muscle tension; U.S. Pat. No. 9,409,053, issued to Todd on Aug. 9, 2016 entitled Exercise data collection system; U.S. Pat. No. 8,964,298, issued to Haddick, et al. on Feb. 24, 2015 entitled Video display modification based on sensor input for a see-through near-to-eye display; U.S. Pat. No. 6,280,361, issued to Harvey, et al. on Aug. 28, 2001 entitled Computerized exercise system and method; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,760, issued to Henson, et al. on Aug. 16, 1977 entitled Exercise apparatus. Each of these patents is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 9,409,053, issued to Todd on Aug. 9, 2016 entitled Exercise data collection system includes an abstract that reads as follows: An exercise data collection system for use with an exercise machine, including a computerized processing unit and at least two sensors mounted on or near the exercise machine to capture data indicative of aspects of exercising performed by a user of the exercise machine. A first of the at least two sensors being of a first sensor type and a second of the at least two sensors being of a second sensor type different from the first sensor type. The sensors including circuitry associated therewith sufficient to allow the sensors to wirelessly communicate captured data for receipt and analysis by the processing unit, which includes programming that will cause the processing unit to analyze the received captured data in conjunction with characteristics of the user so that a representation of the exercise performed by the user can be constructed that reflects the exercising as it was performed by the user. 
     From these prior references, it may be seen that these prior art patents are very limited in their teaching and utilization, and an improved real time isokinetic torque exercise data monitoring is needed to overcome these limitations. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to an individual isokinetic pull force time performance exercise training system using an exercise apparatus with a pull cable exercise machine and a processing and display apparatus. The present invention provides an aid to athletic trainers and trainees in viewing their exercising progress anywhere and anytime. By installing electrical sensors and equipment to store and process data and transmit that data wirelessly the device allows various users access to their exercising data and progress for feedback based on the data results. 
     The present invention collects raw force and distance measurement data and transmits that data wirelessly to a display where the data is further processed into isokinetic power units. The data is then stored in a database and manipulated for easy and coherent viewing by the trainee and the trainer in a user-interactive graph. 
     Objects of the present invention include a processing unit that collects and stores relevant workout measurements, a transmission and reception method that transmits these workout measurements wirelessly to various displays for viewing by the trainee as well as the trainer, easy to use by trainers and trainees with no technical background needed for the user, and at a low price. 
     In operation, a user grabs the handle which is connected to a rope wrapped around an axis that rotates as one pulls on the rope and the resistive shaft provides a constant resistance and the force applied and the rotation of the shaft are monitored over time to collect power information for a graphical display of the manner in which the work is applied. 
     These and other objects and advantages of the present invention, along with features of novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear or become apparent by reviewing the following detailed description of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the following drawings, which form a part of the specification and which are to be construed in conjunction therewith, and in which like reference numerals have been employed throughout wherever possible to indicate like parts in the various views: 
         FIG. 1  is an overview of the individual pull force time performance exercise training system. 
         FIG. 2  is a block schematic of the system. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic representation of the pull cable exercise machine 
         FIG. 4  shows the application main screen. 
         FIG. 5  is a block schematic of the information collection and processing. 
         FIG. 6  is an electrical schematic of the data circuit. 
         FIG. 7  are graphs of the load sensor and rotary encoder information over time. 
         FIG. 8  shows the individual pull force time performance graph displayed on a website. 
         FIG. 9  shows the database layout and the force to distance graphing of multiple repetitions for cross comparison. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 through 8  of the drawings, one exemplary embodiment of the present invention is generally shown as an individual isokinetic pull force time performance exercise training system  100 . The exercise training system  100  includes an exercise apparatus  110  with a pull cable exercise machine  112  and integrated data circuit  146  transmitting data to a processing apparatus  160  with a visual display  170  for showing an isokinetic power graph  200 . 
     The exercise apparatus  110  includes a pull cable exercise machine  112  with an equipment base  114  having a base bottom  116  with a top base surface  118  and frame mounts  120  supporting a separate floating load frame  122  with a frame bottom  124  having a top load surface  126 . In this manner, the floating load frame  122  can move in relation to the base bottom  166 . A load cell  148  is connected to the floating load frame  122  and the base bottom  166  to measure the force applied by the user to the exercise apparatus  110 . The user applies the force through the cable handle  138  connected to the pull cable  136  wrapped around the winding shaft  132  that is biased to rewind the cable by a spring return  134 . The winding shaft  132  is rotationally supported by the left side shaft support  128  and the right side shaft support  130 . Connected to the winding shaft  132  by a connecting chain  144  is a resistance shaft  140  connected to an adjustable resistance device  142  that can be of any known variety such as fluid dampening, clutch plates, etc. 
     The equipment data circuit  146  includes the load cells  148  and also includes rotary encoder sensors  150  as well as a Microprocessor  152  running an operating system  154  and a transmitter  156 . 
     The load cell  148  is a 50 kg load cell attached to a load cell amplifier. Although this setup is more expensive than the other options considered, it is durable and accurate. 
     The rotary encoder  150  is a POLOLU rotary encoder attached to a gear motor shaft available from Pololu Corporation, 920 Pilot Rd., Las Vegas, Nev. 89119. The reason for this selection is because it is again accurate and easy to install. It also has the advantage of having the potential to recharge a battery in the future. 
     The microprocessor  152  is an ARDUINO UNO available from ARDUINO AG Corp. Riedstrasse 11 Cham Switzerland 6330. This microprocessor is cheap and has sufficient capability to collect the raw using a bare bones operating system  154 . The operating system performs a simple loop of Read timer start time, read first load cell, read second load cell, read encoder, Read Timer end time, sending of raw data, Loop back to read timer start time. Note that because the microprocessor  152  clock  153  is significantly faster than the pull of the repetition of the user, this method provides at least 100 time period reads for any single pull of the cable  136  on the machine  112 . The data collected from the load cells and rotary encoder is raw data and needs to be converted into coherent force and distance units but this will be done on the display side of the transmission. Sending of the date is done through a transmitter  156  implemented with a KEDSUM Bluetooth module available from Guangzhou HC Information Technology Co., Ltd, Room 527, No.13, Jiangong Road, Tianhe software park, Tianhe district, Guangzhou. Bluetooth transfer of data was selected as it is a reliable and relatively simple way to transfer data using a variety of methods. 
     Because the processor speed can be set faster than the maximum rotary encoder change, the rotary encoder signal can also be used as an alternative interrupt to read and transmit so that the unit only transmits when being used. Both the constant loop system and the interrupt style transmission system allow for rapid reading and data transmission which allows for utilization of the processing power and large memory available at the processing apparatus  160  on the receiving end of the signal. 
     The load cells  148  measure the force that the user exerts while pulling up on the handle  138  causing the floating load frame  122  to raise which presses against the load cells  148  causing them to deflect which, through a Wheatstone bridge, converts that deflection into an electrical signal which is read by the amplifiers that communicate with the microprocessor  152 . The rotary encoder  150  is attached to the resistive shaft  140  and as one pulls up doing a rep, the shaft  140  rotates which causes the magnetic rotary encoder  150  to rotate, sending a pulse through the rotary encoder chip to the microprocessor  152 . The microprocessor  152  then sends the data to the processing apparatus  160 . The buffers that are collecting the sensor data are then cleared and ready for new data. 
     The processing apparatus  160  is a standard phone, ipad, or other computer device with the capability to receive, collect, and manipulate data and display it to a screen or print out reports. Specifically, Isokinetic Power Units and Calories can be calculated from the raw data. This creates a data collection system that reads from sensors and allows the data to be remotely viewed on a website that can be seen anywhere in the world. In the preferred embodiment, the phone&#39;s Bluetooth receiver  162  feeds the data to an ANDROID application  172  that feeds the processed information to a visual display  170 . ANDROID devices are available from GOOGLE Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, Calif. 94043. 
     The application  172  receives data via the receiver  162  and is then stored in the online database  174 . Essential to the conversion process is the use of appropriate conversion factors that relate the change in force measured by the Load Cells and the distance measured by the Rotary Encoder in units that make sense to people. For the preferred embodiment, force is measured in units of Pounds Force (lbf) and Distance is measured in inches (in). The application  172  computes the various parameters that were selected including max force, max time, Calories, and Isokinetic power units. 
     The application  172  was chosen to be the local display, processing unit, and means to transmit processed workout data to an online database  174  and website  176 . By using an application  172 , purchasers of the system  100  can bring their own device. This allows one to download the latest version of the software where apps are officially obtained, and update their system on the go. For each repetition, the following parameters can be displayed or graphed: Force, Distance, Time, Calories, and Isokinetic Units. 
     The final design of the database  174  is housed on cloud services on the internet. The reduced design time and automatic integration are the primary reasons for choosing this as the back-end for the application. 
     The application  172  and website  176  can display a repetition isokinetic power graph  200  showing a power measurement  202  over a time  30 . The Power measurement  202  equals force measured by the load cells  148  times change in distance recorded by the rotary encoder  150  divided by the time passage indicated by the clock. Thus, small incremental isokinetic power units are calculated using Power=Force*distance/time for each read loop of the microprocessor  172  so that at least 100 single isokinetic power data points are available for any single pull. This can be seen in the graphs of  FIGS. 8 and 9  so that the isokinetic power data can then be displayed as one graph  200  to show power input over the larger time of the whole repetition so that force, distance, and time information are combined in a consistent repeatable power measurement  202  that the exercise regimen can be adjusted. The whole repetition starts when the cable is pulled and continues through the extending stroke and back through the rewind of the cable until the handle is returned to its starting position. 
     Because the application  172  operates on the order of about 100 times faster than the microprocessor  152  it is ideal for performing the mathematical processing as compared to the microprocessor  152   
       FIG. 8  shows the individual isokinetic power graphing performance graph displayed on a website and  FIG. 9  shows the database layout and the force to distance graphing of multiple repetitions for cross comparison between exercise repetitions. 
     Reference numerals used throughout the detailed description and the drawings correspond to the following elements: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 Force 
                 10 
               
               
                   
                 Distance 
                 20 
               
               
                   
                 Time 
                 30 
               
               
                   
                 Power 
                 40 
               
               
                   
                 Individual isokinetic pull force time  
                 100 
               
               
                   
                 performance exercise training system 
                   
               
               
                   
                 Exercise apparatus 
                 110 
               
               
                   
                 Pull cable exercise machine  
                 112 
               
               
                   
                 Equipment base 
                 114 
               
               
                   
                 Base bottom 
                 116 
               
               
                   
                 Top base surface 
                 118 
               
               
                   
                 Frame mounts 
                 120 
               
               
                   
                 Floating load frame 
                 122 
               
               
                   
                 Frame bottom 
                 124 
               
               
                   
                 Top load surface 
                 126 
               
               
                   
                 Left side shaft support  
                 128 
               
               
                   
                 Right side shaft support  
                 130 
               
               
                   
                 Winding shaft  
                 132 
               
               
                   
                 Spring return 
                 134 
               
               
                   
                 Pull cable 
                 136 
               
               
                   
                 Cable handle 
                 138 
               
               
                   
                 Resistance shaft 
                 140 
               
               
                   
                 Adjustable resistance device  
                 142 
               
               
                   
                 Connecting chain 
                 144 
               
               
                   
                 Data Circuit 
                 146 
               
               
                   
                 Load cell  
                 148 
               
               
                   
                 Rotary encoder  
                 150 
               
               
                   
                 Microprocessor 
                 152 
               
               
                   
                 Clock  
                 153 
               
               
                   
                 operating system  
                 154 
               
               
                   
                 transmitter  
                 156 
               
               
                   
                 processing apparatus 
                 160 
               
               
                   
                 receiver 
                 162 
               
               
                   
                 Visual display 
                 170 
               
               
                   
                 application 
                 172 
               
               
                   
                 database  
                 174 
               
               
                   
                 website 
                 176 
               
               
                   
                 single repetition isokinetic power graph  
                 200 
               
               
                   
                 power measurement 
                 202 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention well adapted to obtain all the ends and objects herein set forth, together with other advantages which are inherent to the structure. It will also be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims. Many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 
     When interpreting the claims of this application, method claims may be recognized by the explicit use of the word ‘method’ in the preamble of the claims and the use of the ‘ing’ tense of the active word. Method claims should not be interpreted to have particular steps in a particular order unless the claim element specifically refers to a previous element, a previous action, or the result of a previous action. Apparatus claims may be recognized by the use of the word ‘apparatus’ in the preamble of the claim and should not be interpreted to have ‘means plus function language’ unless the word ‘means’ is specifically used in the claim element. The words ‘defining,’ having,&#39; or ‘including’ should be interpreted as open ended claim language that allows additional elements or structures. Finally, where the claims recite “a” or “a first” element of the equivalent thereof, such claims should be understood to include incorporation of one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements.