WO2001073541A1

WO2001073541A1 - Method and apparatus for capturing personal data using a bar code scanner

Info

Publication number: WO2001073541A1
Application number: PCT/US2001/009172
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andreas Bibl; Deane Gardner; John Higginson; Mitsuo Kurobe; Robert Brett Martin; Michele Hickford
Original assignee: Sportbrain, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-03-29
Filing date: 2001-03-21
Publication date: 2001-10-04
Also published as: AU2001245932A1

Abstract

A device and method for capturing personal data of a user. A personal data capture device having a microprocessor (202, 360), a data reading element (354) coupled to the microprocessor (202, 360) for obtaining the personal data, and a memory (380) coupled to the microprocessor (202, 360) for storing the personal data. The microprocessor is configured to transmit the personal data from the memory (380) to a client device (30).

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CAPTURING PERSONAL DATA USING A

BAR CODE SCANNER

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to personal data monitoring systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to capturing personal data using a data reading element.

2. Background Information

Physical fitness is known to benefit people in many different areas, including improved flexibility and range of motion, increased muscular strength and cardiovascular fitness, body fat loss and increased stamina. Physical exercise helps maintain good health, increases energy, reduces stress and improves physical appearance. However, in order to gain the benefits of regular physical exercise, an exercise program needs to be carefully designed using various fitness and health information. It is desirable that a person engaged in a physical training program is guided by a professional fitness instructor or an athletic trainer. People with health problems may need to exercise under close supervision of a physician. A person who seeks to lose weight may need to get a recommendation on how to coordinate physical exercise and dieting.

In today's busy world, it is unlikely that many people can fully benefit from physical exercise unless the professional advice is readily available to them. However, the professional advice is only as good as the information provided to the professional by the person engaged in physical exercise. Conventional devices are known for obtaining this information via monitoring. Several prior art fitness monitoring devices are designed to provide the users with quick access to information concerning their current exercise level. For example, U.S. Patent No. 5,810,722 describes a device for measuring heartbeat rate. An athlete or a person engaged in fitness training may wear the device on the breast or the wrist. The device measures the heartbeat rate based on skin contact and allows the user to read the result from a display provided in the casing of the device. U.S. Patent No. 5,891,042 describes a fitness monitoring device which includes an electronic pedometer integrated together with a wireless heart rate monitor. The device may be secured to the user's belt or waist band. The device receives electrical signals from a telemetric transmitter unit arranged on the user's skin adjacent to his heart and calculates the heart rate. The device is also configured to detect the user's body motion at each step for performing step counting. The user can read the results from a display provided in the casing of the device. The display includes an alpha/numeric display portion and a heart rate monitoring icon. These prior art devices, however, merely allow the users to see the physiological information concerning their current exercise level. They provide only limited information related to users' fitness activity. They do not provide any processed feedback or professional guidance to the users. In addition, these devices can be cumbersome to wear and they force the users to monitor their own activity, thereby interfering with their focus on physical exercise.

The prior art also includes fitness monitoring systems that allow some interaction between a user and a professional trainer. U.S. Patent No. 5,598,849 describes a fitness monitoring system which includes a user monitor and a fitness system workstation. The monitor is mounted on a user's wrist and operates in conjunction with a heartbeat monitor mounted on a user's chest. The fitness system workstation is a local area network which includes a master computer and an interactive voice response computer. A personal trainer examines the user in a fitness center and obtains the physiological parameters for the user. Based upon these parameters, the master computer determines a suitable exercise regimen for the user. The personal trainer manually programs the user monitor and instructs the client in its use. During physical exercise, the user monitor indicates to the user whether his heart rate is above or below predetermined limits. The user can download data to the fitness system workstation by telephoning the fitness system workstation, holding the pulse code output against the telephone and actuate an appropriate push button on the keyboard to transfer data. At intervals, the fitness system workstation generates detailed reports relating to the user's performance. A personal trainer analyzes these reports and places a voice message for the user in the master computer. The voice message may be delivered to the user when the user telephones the fitness system workstation to download further exercise data.

Although the above prior art system provides some interactive monitoring of a user's exercise activity, this monitoring is very limited. In addition, the use of the system is cumbersome, requires visits to the fitness center, and only collects information related to certain equipment. Furthermore, the feedback provided by the system is narrow and may not satisfy the user's needs with respect to physical exercise.

Therefore, what is required is a device which will capture a wide variety of health and fitness information, will make this infoπnation readily available to users, and will effectively assist the users in their fitness activity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A device and method for capturing personal data of a user are described. In one embodiment, a personal data capture device comprises a microprocessor, a data reading element coupled to the microprocessor for obtaining the personal data, and a memory coupled to the microprocessor for storing the personal data. The microprocessor is configured to transmit the personal data from the memory to a client device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and may be better understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:

Figure 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment for a network architecture;

Figure 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment for an architecture of a computer system;

Figure 3 is a block diagram of one embodiment for a personal data capture device;

Figure 4 is a block diagram of another embodiment for a personal data capture device;

Figure 5 is a flow diagram of one embodiment for managing information on health and fitness activities; and

Figure 6 is a flow diagram of one embodiment for capturing personal data of a user. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT

INVENTION

fn the following detailed description of the present invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the present invention.

Some portions of the detailed descriptions that follow are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of processing blocks leading to a desired result. The processing blocks are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as "processing" or "computing" or "calculating" or "determining" or "displaying" or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

The present invention also relates to apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupled to a computer system bus.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below. In addition, the present invention is not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages maybe used to implement the teachings of the invention as described herein.

Referring now to Figure 1, a block diagram of one embodiment for a network architecture is illustrated. In this embodiment, portable sports appliance (PSA) 110 is portable device. PSA 110 may be used to capture and store heath and fitness information of its user. PS A 110 may be used by any person. For example, PSA 110 may be used by a person engaged in fitness activity, a professional athlete during exercise, a person seeking to lose weight, an employee wishing to know how his stress level changes during the day, etc. The operation of PSA 110 and its functions will be described in more details below.

In one embodiment, personal data capture device 110 is coupled to client 130. In this embodiment, personal data capture device 110 transmits the personal data of the user to client 130. In one embodiment, client 130 may store this data, process it and/or present it to the user, without transmitting the data anywhere else. Alternatively, client 130 may be connected to server 160 via network 150. Client 130 may transmit the personal data to server 160 where this data is processed and presented to the user in the manner described below.

In an alternate embodiment personal data capture device 110 maybe connected to network 150. In this embodiment, communications between client 130 and personal data capture device 110 are not required (although they may still take place if needed for any purpose). A modem or a cradle may be used to upload data from personal data capture device 110 to network 150. fn one embodiment, a cradle may resemble a support element for a telephone receiver or handset. The cradle may include a modem to transmit data over telephone lines and may be configured to provide two-way connection to wide area network 150. In one embodiment, placing personal data capture device 110 in the cradle may trigger an automatic dialing of a telephone number of server 160. When the telephone line is free, data from personal data capture device 110 may then be transmitted to server 160 through wide area network 150. Alternatively, the data may be transmitted from personal data capture device to server 160 using a wireless transmitter. It should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that various ways of transmitting data from PSA 110 to server 160, other than those described above, may be used with this invention without loss of generality.

A cradle may be used with more than one PSA 110. For example, if each family member has his or her own PSA 100, the cradle may be shared by all family members. Personal data of each family member is then uploaded to server 160 at various points of time. Sever 160 may receive personal data from numerous PSA 110 and/or clients 130. This personal data may then be processed by third parties that may provide feedback information to those PSA users who subscribe for this service.

In one embodiment, server 160 is coupled to wide area network 150. Wide area network 150 may include, for example, the Internet, America On-Line™, CompuServe™, Microsoft Network ™, or Prodigy ™. In addition, wide area network 150 may include, for example, conventional network backbones, long-haul telephone lines, Internet service providers, or various levels of network routers. Using conventional network protocols, server 160 may communicate through wide area network 150 to a plurality of clients.

In one embodiment, server communicates to clients 130 and 170. Clients 130 and 170 represent any device that may enable user's access to data. For simplicity, Figure 1 shows only two clients, client 130 and client 170, that can communicate to server 160. However, it will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that server 160 may communicate to a various number of clients and that a wide variety of client devices may be used with this invention without loss of generality. Such devices may include, for example, a conventional computer system, a network computer or thin client device (e.g., WebTV Networks™ Internet terminal or Oracle™ NC), a laptop or palmtop computing device (e.g., Palm Pilot™), a digital consumer device (e.g., a digital TV, a digital camcorder, or a "kitchen" computer"), etc. In one embodiment, clients 130 and 170 may have a Graphical User Interface (GUT) to allow users to access data. A GUI is a graphics-based user interface that incorporates icons, pull-down menus and a mouse. GUIs may include, for example, Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, UNIX Motif, or UNIX OPENLOOK.

Clients 130 and 170 may be connected to server 160 in various ways. In one embodiment, clients 130 and 170 may be connected to server 160 through wide area network 150. Client 170 may represent client devices of third parties, e.g., health and fitness specialists, who access personal data of subscribers on server 160 via wide area network 150 to generate feedback information to subscribers. Client 130 may represent client devices of subscribers who access the generated feedback information via wide area network 150. In one embodiment, client 130 may be connected to a cradle which provides two-way connection with wide area network 150. Alternatively, client 130 may use the same connection means as client 170. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that client 130 does not need to be connected to server 160. Instead, client 130 may be only coupled to personal data capture device 110 to receive the personal data and maintain it as described above.

In an alternate embodiment (not shown in Figure 1), a client, such as client 130 or client 170, may be directly connected to server 160 or through a modem in a conventional way. When connected to wide area network 150, clients 130 and 170 may be connected directly to wide-area network 150 through direct or dial up telephone or other network transmission line. Alternatively, clients 130 and 170 may be connected to wide-area network 150 using a modem pool. A conventional modem pool may allow a plurality of clients to connect with a smaller set of modems in modem pool for connection to wide-area network 150. In yet another network typology, wide-area network 150 may be connected to a gateway computer, which may be used to route data to clients through a local area network. In this manner, clients can communicate with each other through a local area network (LAN) or with server 160 through a gateway and wide-area network 150. Alternatively, LAN maybe directly connected to server 160 and clients may be connected through LAN. For example, subscribers' personal data may be processed by a company employing fitness instructors, athletic trainers, physicians and other heath and fitness specialists. Such a company may use LAN topology for providing internal communication between its employees. LAN may then be connected to server 160 through wide area network 150 for allowing communication between subscribers and health and fitness specialists.

Using one of a variety of network connection means, server computer 160 may communicate with clients 130 and 170 using conventional means. In one embodiment, a server computer 160 may operate as a web server if the World-Wide Web (WWW) portion of the Internet is used for wide area network 150. Using the HTTP protocol and the HTML coding language across a network, web server 160 may communicate across the World-Wide Web with clients 130 and 170. In this configuration, clients 130 and 170 may use a client application program known as a web browser such as the Netscape™ Navigator™ published by Netscape Corporation of Mountain View, CA, the Internet Explorer™ published by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington, the user interface of America On-Line™, or the web browser or HTML translator of any other conventional supplier. Using such conventional browsers and the World-Wide Web, clients 130 and 170 may access graphical and textual data or video, audio, or tactile data provided by web server 160. Conventional means exist by which clients 130 and 170 may supply information to web server 160 through the World-Wide Web 150 and the web server 160 may return processed data to clients 130 and 170.

Having briefly described one embodiment of the network environment in which the present invention operates, Figure 2 illustrates an example of a computer system 200 illustrating an exemplary client 130 or 170, or server 160 computer system in which the features of the present invention may be implemented. Referring to Figure 2, computer system 200 is comprised of a bus or other communications means 201 for communicating information, and a processing means such as processor 202 coupled with bus 201 for processing information. Computer system 200 further comprises a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device 204 (commonly referred to as main memory), coupled to bus 201 for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor 202. Main memory 204 also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by processor 202. Computer system 200 also comprises a read only memory (ROM) and /or other static storage device 206 coupled to bus 201 for storing static information and instructions for processor 202.

An optional data storage device 207 such as a magnetic disk or optical disk and its corresponding drive may also be coupled to computer system 200 for storing information and instructions. Computer system 200 can also be coupled via bus 201 to a display device 221, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display (LCD), for displaying information to a computer user. For example, graphical or textual information may be presented to the user on display device 221. Typically, an alphanumeric input device 222, including alphanumeric and other keys is coupled to bus 201 for communicating information and/or command selections to processor 202. Another type of user input device is cursor control device 223, such as a conventional mouse, touch mouse, trackball, or other type of cursor direction keys for communicating direction information and command selection to processor 202 and for controlling cursor movement on display 221. A fully-loaded computer may optionally include video, camera, speakers, sound card, and many other conventional options.

Alternatively, clients 130 and 170 can be implemented as any device described above. Such a device does not necessarily include all of the elements and features of the above-described exemplary computer system; however, the functionality of the present invention may nevertheless be implemented with such devices.

A communication device 225 is also coupled to bus 201 for accessing remote computers or servers, such as web server 160, or other servers via the Internet, for example. The communication device 225 may include a modem, a network interface card, or other well known interface devices, such as those used for interfacing with Ethernet, Token-ring, or other types of networks. In any event, in this manner, the computer system 200 may be coupled to a number of servers 160 via a network infrastructure such as the infrastructure illustrated in Figure 1 and described above.

Figure 3 is a block diagram of one embodiment for a personal data capture device. In one embodiment, personal data capture device 300 is a portable device. In this embodiment, personal data capture device 300 maybe clipped to the user's waist band, or may be secured to the user in other ways such as via a wrist watch-type arrangement or by simply being held by the user. Referring to Figure 3, personal data capture device 300 includes microprocessor 360 which is coupled to memory 380, software program 382 and electronics 384. Data reading element 354 is coupled to microprocessor 360 and is used for obtaining a variety of health and fitness information of the user.

In one embodiment, data reading element 354 is a bar code scanner. In this embodiment, when the user scans barcodes related to a certain health, diet, or fitness activity, data reading element 354 reads the barcodes and passes them to microprocessor 360 which then stores them in memory 380. The barcodes may be related to any heath, diet, or fitness equipment in a gym or home, or any health, diet, or fitness activity which does not require use of stationary equipment (e.g. free weight lifting, jogging, running, swimming, monitoring food calories, etc). Barcodes related to a certain activity may include a code identifying equipment or activity and codes for a set of parameters associated with this equipment or activity. For example, barcodes for free weight Ufting may include a code identifying free weight lifting, and codes identifying how much weight was lifted and a number of repetitions. Likewise, barcodes for a stationary bicycle may include a code identifying a bicycle and codes identifying the chosen program, its level of complexity, and the amount of time spent on this program. In another example, barcodes for monitoring food calories may include a code identifying a food product or a meal, and a code indicating the amount consumed. In this example, the code identifying the food product maybe read from the package of the food product or from a recipe book which was used in preparing the meal. It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that barcodes for a wide variety of health and fitness equipment and activities other than those described above can be used with data reading element 354 without loss of generality.

In one embodiment, server 160 contains a database which includes information on a variety of health, diet, and fitness equipment and activities. This information includes identifiers of each equipment, food item, or activity and a set of parameters required for each equipment or activity. The information may be updated to add or modify equipment or activity and/or associated parameters. Based on the information in the database, server 160 may create barcodes for the requested equipment or activity. These barcodes may then be posted on a web site and printed by the user, or may be distributed in other ways (e.g. by mail, during a meeting with gym personnel, etc.). In alternate embodiments, data reading element 154 may be a magnetic stripe reader, an optical reader, a charge coupled device (CCD) video capturing element, or an audible data capturing element.

Figure 5 is a flow diagram of one embodiment for managing information on health and fitness activities. At processing block 520, an identifier for each activity is stored with a set of parameters associated with the activity. In one embodiment, the information is stored in a database on server 160. As described above, the stored information may also include information on equipment associated with health and fitness activities, information on food products, and any other information related to health and fitness.

At processing block 530, the above information is used to generate codes identifying each activity (including equipment, food product, etc.) and associated parameters. The codes for each activity or equipment may be posted on a web site to be printed by a user or gym personnel, or may be distributed by mail, in person, etc. At processing block 540, the codes are read by data reading element 354 to capture the user's personal data in personal data capture device 300. As a result, the users are provided with a simple and convenient way of capturing a wide variety of their fitness and health data, without requiring the users to use only the equipment of a particular manufacturer or to limit their health and fitness activities in any manner.

Referring back to Figure 3, personal data capture device 300 may include additional features. In one embodiment, microprocessor 360 is coupled to user interface 390. User interface 390 warns the user if a problem occurs when data reading element 354 obtains the personal data (e.g. by reading a bar code or a magnetic stripe, capturing audible data, etc.). In one embodiment, user interface 390 is a light emitting diode (LED), which may generate a glow of a certain color (e.g. red glow) when a problem occurs. In alternate embodiments, user interface 390 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), an audible tone emitter, a voice message generator, a text-based interface, a graphical interface, or any other known in the art interface for providing the user with a warning. The warning may be generated, for example, when an identifier of the equipment or activity is not received or any parameter associated with the equipment or activity is missing.

In one embodiment, the information obtained by data reading element 300 is supplemented by information transmitted to personal data capture device 300 from various sources, hi this embodiment, personal data capture device 300 may include a motion sensor 350 which provides information on the velocity of the user when the user is walking or running, or is engaged in some other relevant activity. In addition, personal data capture device 300 may include heart rate receiver 340 which receives heart beat rate from wireless heart rate transmitter 320. Various other sources may provide signals to personal data capture device 300. Personal parameter transmitter 305 represents a wide variety of signals that may be received by various personal parameter receivers 325 included in personal data capture device 300. For example, a bathroom weight scale may have a transmitter built in it to automatically transmit signals with weight data to personal data capture device 300. Likewise, a blood pressure meter or a glucose meter can transmit data to personal data capturing device 300 which will receive it using a corresponding personal parameter receiver 325. In one embodiment, heart rate receiver 340 is personal parameter receiver 325. It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that all of the receivers described above or any combination of them may be included in personal data capture device 300 without loss of generality.

Upon receiving a signal, any of the receivers 325 through 350 outputs data to microprocessor 360. Microprocessor 360 stores this data in memory 380. In one embodiment, personal data capture device may include electronic beeper 370 for providing audio signals related to the personal data. For example, when personal data capture device 300 is configured over the network as described above, electronic beeper 370 can be set to signal low and high heart rate target limits, low and high pace limits, low and high weight limits, etc. Alternatively, or in addition to electronic beeper 370, personal data capture device 300 may include digital audio 372 to provide more detailed feedback. Digital audio 372 maybe configured to provide various real time information (e.g., distance average speed) related to personal parameters transmitted to personal data capture device 300. Personal data capture device 300 may also include digital audio player such as MP3 player 374 to play digital recordings. In one embodiment, the real time information generated by digital audio 372 and/or digital recordings played by MP3 player may be communicated to the user by earphone 376 coupled to digital audio 372 and/or MP3 player 374. It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that any combination of personal data receivers 325 through 350 and audio signal generators 370 through 376 may be used with personal data capture device 300 without loss of generality. In one embodiment, the personal data stored in memory 380 is transmitted directly to client 130. Client 130 then maintains and process this data as described above. Alternatively, the personal data may be transmitted from personal data capture device 300 to server 160. This embodiment will be described in more detail below.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of another embodiment for a personal data capture device. Referring to Figure 4, personal data capture device 400 may include the same features and functionality as personal data capture device 300. In one embodiment, personal data capture device 400 includes all data receivers 325 through 350 and all audio signal generators 370 through 376. In alternate embodiments, personal data capture device 400 may include any combination of receivers 325 - 350 and audio signal generators 370 - 376.

In one embodiment, personal data capture device 400 also includes a global positioning system (GPS) signal receiver 415 which receives GPS signals 405. GPS signals 405 may include three-dimensional positional information and velocity of the user when the user is walking or running, or is engaged in some other relevant activity. In one embodiment, a motion sensor 350 which may improve the accuracy of the above information or substitute it when GPS signal 405 is interrupted.

In one embodiment, panic button 420 is coupled to microprocessor 360. In this embodiment, software 382 analyzes personal data in memory 380. If the personal data includes a parameter that is below or exceeds a certain panic parameter (e.g., heart rate is too low or too high), software 382 may cause microprocessor 360 to invoke panic button 420. Panic button 420 may then produce a panic signal to a satellite page service or a cellular service 410. In one embodiment, the panic parameters maybe set or updated from the user's web site 435 and transferred to memory 380 over the wide area network. In alternate embodiments, the panic parameters may be set or updated by health or fitness specialists through web server 160 or programmed during the manufacture of personal data capture device 400. hi one embodiment, GPS receiver 425 is coupled to modem 430. GPS receiver 425 receives signals directly from GPS 405 to provide differential correction of GPS signals. Alternatively, differential correction of GPS signals maybe done from a personal web site of a subscriber or from a company web site.

In one embodiment, microprocessor 360 is coupled to modem 430. Modem 430 provides a direct two-way connection to web server 160 and web site 435 over a wide area network. In this embodiment, microprocessor 360 uploads a user's personal data from memory 380 to web server 160. Alternatively, personal data capture device 400 may include a wireless transmitter (not shown) which may be used by microprocessor 360 to transmit the subscriber's personal data from memory 380 to web server 160 via a wireless carrier.

In one embodiment, the personal data may be posted on web site 435. Web site 435 may be a personal web site of the user (also referred to as a "subscriber") or a company web site which can be accessed by all subscribers. Client device 130 is coupled to web site 435 to provide the user with a convenient way to view the data.

In one embodiment, the user may be provided with an option of adding new features to personal data capture device 400 over the wide area network. For example, the user may be notified of availability of a new or improved version for personal data capture device 400. The user may then be allowed to download the new or improved version directly over the Internet.

In one embodiment, the personal data may be transmitted using a cradle. That is, the personal data capture device is placed in the cradle which triggers an automatic dialing of a telephone number of the server. When the telephone line is free, data from the personal data capture device may be transmitted to the web server through a wide area network. The transmitted data may include a unique identifier associated with the data capture device.

In one embodiment, server 160 stores personal data of subscribers. In one embodiment, each subscriber is required to have an account registered at the web server in order to receive services provided by the web server. The account may need to be created before personal data is first transmitted to server 160. In alternate embodiments, the account may be created when the personal data capture device is purchased or at the time of first transmission of personal data to the web server. fn one embodiment, the personal data stored on server 160 may be accessed by a third party. The third party may include, for example, a fitness instructor, an athletic trainer, a diet or nutrition specialist, a physician, or any other fitness or health specialist. One or more specialists may have access to the personal data of the subscriber depending on the subscriber's needs and subscribed services. Every specialist involved in the subscribed services may create feedback information based on the personal data of the subscriber. The feedback information may then be presented to the subscriber over a wide area network.

In one embodiment, the feedback information is posted on a private web site of the subscriber. Alternatively, the subscriber may access the feedback information on a particular web site known to all subscribers (e.g., www.sportbrain.com) upon entering a password or a certain unique code. In addition to the feedback information, the personal data may be presented to the subscriber in numerous forms. The numerous forms may include, for example, various graphs, tables, map overlays, progressive charts, and comparisons with data of other subscribers.

In one embodiment, personal data capture device 300 or 400 may be configured from web site 435 by the subscriber. Alternatively, the personal data capture device may be configured by a health or fitness specialist over the wide area network. For example, a fitness instructor may decide to reconfigure the personal data capture device according to a new version of the exercise program that the instructor designed for the subscriber based on the recent personal data of the subscriber. In yet another embodiment, both the subscriber and the instructor may have the ability to reconfigure the personal data capture device over the network.

Figure 6 is a flow diagram of one embodiment for capturing personal data. Referring to Figure 6, at processing block 620, personal data is obtained using a data reading element of a personal data capture device. As described above, the data reading element may be a bar code reader, a magnetic stripe reader, an optical reader, a charge coupled device (CCD) video capturing element, or an audible data capturing element.

At processing block 630, the personal data is stored in the personal data capture device. In one embodiment, personal parameter receivers receive the user's health and fitness data and also store it in the personal data capture device. Each parameter obtained by the data reading element or any personal parameter receiver may be stored with information indicating date, time and source of the parameter.

At processing block 640, the personal data is transmitted from the personal data capture device to a client device. In one embodiment, the client device receives the personal data, processes it, and presents it to the user in various forms such as tables, graphs, map overlays, etc. Alternatively, the client device is a network server which receives the personal data over a network. The network server may receive personal data from a plurality of personal data capture devices. The personal data may be stored in a repository of personal data which resides either directly on server 160 or on a separate computer accessible by server 160.

In one embodiment, the personal data is stored in the repository of personal data only if the user (i.e. subscriber) maintains an account registered with server 160. The account may be registered at any time before or simultaneously with first transmission of subscriber's personal data. At the time of creating the account, the subscriber may be required to provide a password or a code to prevent access to the personal data by anyone other than the subscriber. In one embodiment, the account information may be stored together with the personal data in the repository of the personal data. Alternatively, the account information may be stored in a separate database or file.

Depending on the services selected by the subscriber, various feedback information may be created in response to the subscriber's personal data. In one embodiment, a fitness instructor, an athletic trainer, a diet or nutrition specialist, a physician, or any other fitness or health specialist may be able to access the subscriber's personal data. One or more fitness or health specialists may analyze the personal data and create the feedback information. In alternate embodiments, the personal data or its portion may be analyzed by a software program which may either create the feedback information entirely or assist fitness or health specialists in creating the feedback information. The feedback information may be stored either in the repository of personal data or in a separate database residing on web server 160 or on a different computer accessible by web server 160.

In one embodiment, the feedback information is posted on a web site. As described above, the web site may be a personal web site of the subscriber or a company web site that can be accessed by all subscribers. In one embodiment, the personal data may be posted on the web site in various forms such as graphs, tables and map overlays. In addition, the subscriber's personal data may be compared with personal data of other subscribers or with this subscriber's history data. In one embodiment, when the personal web site is used, the web site may be specifically created as a part of services provided to the subscriber. Alternatively, the subscriber's existing web site may be used for posting the feedback information and the personal data of the subscriber. In yet another embodiment, the feedback information and personal data may be posted on a company web site known to all subscribers, ha either embodiment, access to the feedback information and personal data is protected either by a password or other means for maintaining confidentiality of personal information.

Several variations in the implementation of the method and system for capturing personal data of a user have been described. The specific arrangements and methods described here are illustrative of the principles of this invention. Numerous modifications in form and detail may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Although this invention has been shown in relation to a particular embodiment, it should not be considered so limited. Rather it is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A personal data capture device comprising: a microprocessor; a data reading element coupled to the microprocessor, the data reading element obtaining personal data of a user; and a memory coupled to the microprocessor for storing the personal data, the microprocessor configured to transmit the personal data from the memory to a client device.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein personal data includes health and fitness information of the user.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the data reading element is one selected from the group consisting of a bar code reader, a magnetic stripe reader, an optical reader, a charge coupled device (CCD) video capturing element, and an audible data capturing element.

4. The device of claim 1 further comprising a user interface for warning the user about a problem in obtaining the personal data by the data reading element.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein the user interface is a light emitting diode (LED), a liquid crystal display (LCD), an audible tone emitter, a voice message generator, a text- based interface, or a graphical interface.

6. The device of claim 1 further comprising at least one personal data receiver for receiving personal data from at least one personal parameter transmitter.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein each of the at least one personal data receiver is one selected from the group consisting of a global positioning system (GPS) signal receiver, a heart rate receiver, a motion sensor, a weight data receiver, a blood pressure receiver, a glucose measurement receiver, and an exercise data receiver.

8. The device of claim 1 further comprising at least one audio signal generator coupled to the microprocessor for providing audio signals related to the personal data.

9. The device of claim 8 further comprising an earphone for communicating audio signals to the user.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein an audio signal generator is one selected from the group consisting of an electronic beeper, a digital voice generator and a digital audio player.

11. The device of claim 1 further comprising a panic button connected to the microprocessor for producing a signal to a satellite page service or a cellular service.

12. The device of claim 1 wherein the client device is a network server.

13. A system for managing information on health and fitness activities, the system comprising: a database for storing an identifier of each of the activities and at least one parameter associated with each activity; a code generator for generating codes coπesponding to each activity and associated parameters; and a personal data capture device for reading the codes to capture personal data of the user.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the information includes an identifier of equipment related to a health or fitness activity and at least one parameter associated with the equipment.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein the personal data capture device includes a data reading element for reading the codes.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the data reading element is a bar code reader, a magnetic stripe reader, an optical reader, or a charge coupled device (CCD) video capturing element.

17. The system of claim 13 wherein the personal data capture device includes a user interface for warning the user about a problem in reading a code.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the user interface is a light emitting diode (LED), a liquid crystal display (LCD), an audible tone emitter, a voice message generator, a text-based interface, or a graphical interface.

19. A method for capturing personal data of a user, the method comprising: obtaining the personal data by a data reading element of a personal data capture device; storing the personal data in the personal data capture device; and transmitting the personal data from the personal data capture device to a client device.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein personal data includes health and fitness information of the user.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein the data reading element is one selected from the group consisting of a bar code reader, a magnetic stripe reader, an optical reader, a charge coupled device (CCD) video capturing element, and an audible data capturing element.

22. The method of claim 19 further comprising providing a user interface to warn the user about a problem in obtaining the personal data by the data reading element.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the user interface is a light emitting diode (LED), a liquid crystal display (LCD), an audible tone emitter, a voice message generator, a text-based interface, or a graphical interface.

24. The method of claim 19 further comprising receiving personal data by at least one personal data receiver.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein each of the at least one personal data receiver is one selected from the group consisting of a global positioning system (GPS) signal receiver, a heart rate receiver, a motion sensor, a weight data receiver, a blood pressure receiver, a glucose measurement receiver, and an exercise data receiver.

26. The method of claim 19 further comprising providing audio signals related to the personal data.

27. The method of claim 26 further comprising communicating audio signals to the user.

28. The method of claim 19 further comprising producing a signal to a satellite page service or a cellular service.

29. The method of claim 19 wherein the client device is a network server.

30. A method for managing information on health and fitness activities, the method comprising: storing an identifier of each of the activities and at least one parameter associated with each activity; generating codes corresponding to each activity and associated parameters; and reading at least one code to capture personal data of a user in a personal data capture device.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the information includes an identifier of equipment related to a health or fitness activity and at least one parameter associated with the equipment.

32. The method of claim 30 wherein the personal data capture device includes a data reading element for reading the codes.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein the data reading element is a bar code reader, a magnetic stripe reader, an optical reader, or a charge coupled device (CCD) video capturing element.

34. The method of claim 30 further comprising providing a user interface for warning the user about a problem in reading a code.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein the user interface is a light emitting diode (LED), a liquid crystal display (LCD), an audible tone emitter, a voice message generator, a text-based interface, or a graphical interface.