EP0117330A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Heart rate monitor and method of monitoring fitness
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 1983-06-02
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2003-06-02
Abstract
Abstract A heart rate monitor device suitable for use in monitoring aerobic exercise training, automatically calculates a fitness parameter for a subject by monitoring the subject's heart rate and pacing the subject through a submaximal exercise stress test protocol. A microprocessor in the device is fed data peculiar to the individual subject, and then generates pacing signals to produce audible tones or beeps. The stride frequency, or rate of the tones varies at intervals so that the subject can exercise by running at progressively faster speeds. At the point of exhaustion, or maximum heart rate, the subject's maximal oxygen uptake capacity is calculated, based on the elapsed time, and is displayed as a fitness parameter. The subject's exercice level is automatically monitored based on his or her exercise heart rate, maximum heart rate, and rest heart rate.
Inventors
- 👤 Michael Lubell
- 👤 Stephen Marks
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 12:48
CPC Classifications
A; A63; A63B; A63B71/00; A63B71/06; A63B71/0686; A61; A61B; A61B5/00; A61B5/02; A61B5/024; A61B5/22; A61B5/221; A61B5/222; A61B5/68; A61B5/6801; A61B5/683; A61B5/6831; A63B2208/00; A63B2208/12; A63B2230/00; A63B2230/04; A63B2230/06; A63B2230/062; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S482/00; Y10S482/901
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
334 words
A heart rate monitor system for monitoring the heart rate of an animate subject during exercise training, of the type comprising heart beat sensor means worn on said animate subject to sense said subject's heart beat; data entry means for entering selected data peculiar to said subject; display means for displaying said entered selected data and one or more fitness parameters calculated on the basis of said entered selected data and the detected heart beats of said subject said fitness parameters including a maximal oxygen uptake parameter VO 2max ; and microprocessor means for storing said entered data and heart rate data calculated from said detected heart beats and calculating said one or more fitness parameters based on the entered data and heart rate data, said system including timing means for measuring the heart rate of the subject on the basis of said detected heart beats; and indicator means providing an indication to said subject of the level of training exercise; wherein said maximal oxygen uptake parameter VO 2max as a fitness index is determined as follows: 1) Providing said indication to establish an exercise cadence for said subject at a pacing rate according to a prescribed protocol in which the subject exercises at a -first slow cadence for a first period, and at progressively faster cadences for corresponding successive periods, while continuously measuring the heart rate in said microprocessor means based on said detected heart beat of said subject while the latter is exercising at each of said cadences according to said protocol; 2) Halting the exercise protocol when said subject reaches a maximum heart rate HR M and storing the measured maximum heart rate HR and elapsed time T from the commencement of said exercise protocol until said maximum heart HR M rate is attained; and 3) Calculating said fitness index according to a relationship where a and b are experimentally derived coefficients; said display means being operative to display the calculated fitness index VO 2max furnished thereto from said microprocessor means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
334 words
A heart rate monitor system for monitoring the heart rate of an animate subject during exercise training, of the type comprising heart beat sensor means worn on said animate subject to sense said subject's heart beat; data entry means for entering selected data peculiar to said subject; display means for displaying said entered selected data and one or more fitness parameters calculated on the basis of said entered selected data and the detected heart beats of said subject said fitness parameters including a maximal oxygen uptake parameter VO 2max ; and microprocessor means for storing said entered data and heart rate data calculated from said detected heart beats and calculating said one or more fitness parameters based on the entered data and heart rate data, said system including timing means for measuring the heart rate of the subject on the basis of said detected heart beats; and indicator means providing an indication to said subject of the level of training exercise; wherein said maximal oxygen uptake parameter VO 2max as a fitness index is determined as follows: 1) Providing said indication to establish an exercise cadence for said subject at a pacing rate according to a prescribed protocol in which the subject exercises at a -first slow cadence for a first period, and at progressively faster cadences for corresponding successive periods, while continuously measuring the heart rate in said microprocessor means based on said detected heart beat of said subject while the latter is exercising at each of said cadences according to said protocol; 2) Halting the exercise protocol when said subject reaches a maximum heart rate HR M and storing the measured maximum heart rate HR and elapsed time T from the commencement of said exercise protocol until said maximum heart HR M rate is attained; and 3) Calculating said fitness index according to a relationship where a and b are experimentally derived coefficients; said display means being operative to display the calculated fitness index VO 2max furnished thereto from said microprocessor means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
106 words
The heart rate monitor system of claim 1 wherein said exercise protocol includes pacing said subject to run at speeds as shown in the following chart for the indicated successive intervals: stopping the exercise protocol when the subject's heart rate attains the maximum heart rate; and calculating said fitness index VO 2max according to the following relationships: VO = 3.83T + 13, when T is between 0 and 7 2max minutes and VO = 2.33T + 24 when T is between 7 and 18 minutes, T being the number of minutes and VO 2max being expressed in units of milliliters of oxygen per kilogram per minute.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
46 words
The heart rate system device of claim 2, wherein said subject's sex is also entered on said data entry means as said selected data, and said fitness index VO 2max is automatically mutiplied by an adjustment factor if said subject's sex, as so entered, is female.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
130 words
The heart rate monitor system of claim 1, wherein said protocol includes measuring, by means of said sensor means and said timer means, the heart rate of said subject while at rest and storing the same in said microprocessor means as a resting heart rate HR ; said microprocessor means calculates as an exercise stress level the fraction (%VO max ) of maximum oxygen uptake, while said subject is exercising, with an exercise heart rate HR E being determined in accordance with said subject's detected heart beats, the exercise stress level being automatically calculated in accordance with the relationship: where c is a predetermined constant; and one of said indicator means and said display means being operative to indicate a stress level indication based on said calculated exercise stress level.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
12 words
The heart rate monitor system of claim 4, wherein c = 10.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
91 words
The heart rate monitor system of claim 4, further including audible tone generating means and wherein, in a pacer mode, said tone generating means provides audible pacer tones as pulses at a stride cadence to correspond to a selected running speed V, with said pacer tones having a normal pitch when said subject's exercise heart rate HR E is such that said stress level (%VO 2max ) is within a predetermined training range; and different alarm pitches when said exercise stress level (%VO 2max ) is above or below said range.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
95 words
The heart rate monitor system of claim 4, wherein said data peculiar to said subject and entered on said data entry means includes the subject's weight M; said microprocessor means is operative to compute an equivalent running speed V based on said subject's stress level, weight, and fitness index according to the following relation: where V is in KM/hour and M is in Kg, and d, e, and f are predetermined constants; and said display means is operative to provide a speed indication of said stress level based on said computed equivalent running speed V.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
127 words
8 . The heart rate monitor system of claim 1, wherein said selected data peculiar to the wearer and entered on said data entry means includes the height H of said subject, and said microprocessor means automatically determines a running cadence SF to correspond to a selected running speed V by dividing a stride length SL of said subject by the running speed V, with said stride length being determined in said microprocessor means as a function of the height H of the wearer and of. the running speed V to satisfy a relation SL = g + hV + jH, where g, h, and j are predetermined coeffiecients; and said system includes audible tone generator means for generating pacer tones as pulses at said cadence SF.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
40 words
The heart rate monitor device of claim 6, wherein said stride length SL is calculated to satisfy the relation SL = 0.778 + 0.881V + 0.5364H where SL and H are in meters and V is in KM per hour.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
351 words
A method of monitoring the fitness of a human subject during exercise training by use of a heart rate monitor device comprising heart beat sensor means worn on said subject to sense said subject's heart beat; data entry means for entering selected data peculiar to said subject including the subject's height H, weight M, and gender; display means for displaying the entered selected data and one or more fitness parameters calculated on the basis of said entered selected data and heart rate data calculated from said detected heart beats and for calculating said fitness parameters based on the entered data and the heart rate data, the device including timing means for measuring the heart rate of the subject based on said detected heart beats; and indicator means providing an indication to said subject of the level of exercise; said fitness parameters including a maximal oxygen uptake parameter VO 2max as a fitness index; the method comprising the steps of 1) Entering on said data entry means the weight M, height H, and gender of the subject, and storing the same as entered on said data entry means, as said selected data; 2) Automatically measuring the heart rate of said subject while at rest and storing such heart rate in said microprocessor means as a resting heart rate HR ; 3) Automatically providing said indications to establish an exercise cadence for said wearer at a pacing rate that varies according to a prescribed protocol in which said cadence gradually increases, while continuously measuring the subject's heart rate in said microprocessor means based on the subject's detected heart beats while exercising according to said protocol; 4) Halting the exercise protocol when said subject's heart rate attains a maximum heart rate HR M , and storing the measured maximum heart rate HR M and elapsed time T from the commencement of said exercise protocol until said maximum heart rate HR M is attained; 5) Automatically calculating said fitness index according to the relationship where a and b are experimentally derived coefficients; and 6) Displaying the calculated fitness index VO 2max on said display means.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
351 words
A method of monitoring the fitness of a human subject during exercise training by use of a heart rate monitor device comprising heart beat sensor means worn on said subject to sense said subject's heart beat; data entry means for entering selected data peculiar to said subject including the subject's height H, weight M, and gender; display means for displaying the entered selected data and one or more fitness parameters calculated on the basis of said entered selected data and heart rate data calculated from said detected heart beats and for calculating said fitness parameters based on the entered data and the heart rate data, the device including timing means for measuring the heart rate of the subject based on said detected heart beats; and indicator means providing an indication to said subject of the level of exercise; said fitness parameters including a maximal oxygen uptake parameter VO 2max as a fitness index; the method comprising the steps of 1) Entering on said data entry means the weight M, height H, and gender of the subject, and storing the same as entered on said data entry means, as said selected data; 2) Automatically measuring the heart rate of said subject while at rest and storing such heart rate in said microprocessor means as a resting heart rate HR ; 3) Automatically providing said indications to establish an exercise cadence for said wearer at a pacing rate that varies according to a prescribed protocol in which said cadence gradually increases, while continuously measuring the subject's heart rate in said microprocessor means based on the subject's detected heart beats while exercising according to said protocol; 4) Halting the exercise protocol when said subject's heart rate attains a maximum heart rate HR M , and storing the measured maximum heart rate HR M and elapsed time T from the commencement of said exercise protocol until said maximum heart rate HR M is attained; 5) Automatically calculating said fitness index according to the relationship where a and b are experimentally derived coefficients; and 6) Displaying the calculated fitness index VO 2max on said display means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
154 words
The method of claim 10 wherein said exercise protocol includes pacing said subject to run at speeds as follows for the indicated successive intervals and halting the exercise protocol when the subject's heart rate attains said maximum heart rate HR M : calculating said fitness index according to the relationships: VO 2max = 3.83 T + 13, where T is between 0 and 7 minutes and said gender is male; VO 2max = 2.33 T + 13, where T is between 7 and 18 minutes and said gender is male; VO 2max = (3.83 T + 13) x .875 where T is between 0 and 7 minutes and said gender is female; and VO 2max = (2.33 T + 13) x .875 where T is between 7 and 18 minutes and said gender is female; T being the number of minutes and VO 2max being expressed in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram per minute.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 11, wherein said speeds V 1 to V 6 are respectively 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 miles per hour.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 10, wherein said indications are provided as pulse audio tones each representing a step at a running cadence SF, in which the pulse audio tones are provided to correspond to a selected running speed V.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
62 words
The method of claim 13, wherein said running cadence SL is automatically determined for each running speed V by dividing the running speed V by the subject's stride length SL; and said stride length SL is automatically calculated, using the subject's height H as entered and stored in said microprocessor means, according to the relationship where c,d, and e are predetermined coefficients.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
91 words
The method of claim 11, wherein said subject is a cyclist and said exercise training is accomplished on bicycle means having a wheel of an effective circumference, with said circumference being entered on said data entry means and stored in said microprocessor means, said heart rate monitor device includes a sensor for sensing revolutions of said wheel and providing a bicycle sensor output to said microprocessor means, and said indicator means indicates a detected speed V B of said bicycle means calculated based on said bicycle sensor output and said circumference.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
60 words
The method of claim 11, wherein said microprocessor means automatically calculates an exercise stress level (%VO 2max ) for said subject during exercise training based on the subject's exercise heart rate HR E , such calculation following the relation: where f is a predetermined constant; and said display means displays a training fitness parameter based on said exercise stress level.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method of claim 16, wherein said display means displays a quantity CAL corresponding to calories consumed during exercise, further comprising the step of automatically computing such quantity CAL in said microprocessor means according to the relation: where T is the elapsed time in minutes and M is expressed in kilograms.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 16, wherein said step of computing the quantity CAL includes incrementing a memory means in said microprocessor means, at periodic intervals, with a rate of calories consumed per each such interval.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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