Movement supporting method and apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9675866-B2
Application number	US-59173506-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 2, 2006
Priority date	Nov 16, 2005
Publication date	Jun 13, 2017
Grant date	Jun 13, 2017

Abstract

A movement supporting method includes the following steps: detecting a movement tempo of a user; determining whether a movement tempo detection value is within a target range; and outputting a warning when the movement tempo detection value is out of the target range.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A movement supporting method comprising the steps of:
recording, by at least one movement sensor attached to a user, a first sensor output signal when the user starts moving;
transforming the first sensor output signal into a first autocorrection waveform by computing an autocorrection function of the first sensor output signal;
determining a first movement tempo value of the user based on the first autocorrection waveform;
setting, by at least one computer processor, a target tempo of an exercise performed by the user, wherein the target tempo of the exercise is set based, at least in part, on the first movement tempo value;
recording, by the at least one movement sensor, a second sensor output signal during performance of the exercise by the user;
transforming the second sensor output signal into a second autocorrection waveform by computing an autocorrection function of the second sensor output signal;
determining, based on the second autocorrection waveform, a plurality of second movement tempo values of the user during performance of the exercise, wherein each of the plurality of second movement tempo values indicates a rate of physical movements performed by the user during a fixed time interval during performance of the exercise;
determining, with the at least one computer processor, whether the plurality of second movement tempo values are outside of a target range that includes the target tempo for a predetermined period of time; and
outputting a warning when it is determined that the plurality of second movement tempo values are outside of the target range for the predetermined period of time, wherein outputting a warning comprises outputting a first warning when it is determined that the plurality of second movement tempo values exceed the target range for the predetermined period of time and outputting a second warning when it is determined that the plurality of second movement tempo values fall below the target range for the predetermined period of time, wherein the first warning and the second warning are different.

2. The movement supporting method according to claim 1 , wherein the target range has an upper allowable width and a lower allowable width above and below the target tempo, respectively.

3. The movement supporting method according to claim 2 , wherein the upper allowable width and the lower allowable width are functions of the target tempo and increase as the target tempo increases.

4. The movement supporting method according to claim 1 , wherein the warning is output by changing a playback state of content being played.

5. The movement supporting method according to claim 1 , wherein the warning is output by outputting a beep, a noise, or another sound, changing a sound being output, or stopping output of a sound.

6. The movement supporting method according to claim 1 , wherein the warning is output by outputting light, changing a light output mode, or stopping output of light.

7. The movement supporting method according to claim 1 , wherein the warning is output by generating a vibration, changing a vibration mode, or stopping output of a vibration.

8. The movement supporting method according to claim 1 , wherein determining the first movement tempo comprises:
detecting a plurality of detection values when the user starts moving; and
determining the first movement tempo value based, at least in part, on an average of the plurality of detection values.

9. The movement supporting method according to claim 1 , further comprising determining a tempo of music being played when the user is moving, and wherein setting the target tempo is further based, at least in part, on the determined tempo of music being played when the user is moving.

10. The movement supporting method according to claim 9 , wherein determining the tempo of music being played when the user is moving comprises determining the tempo of music based, at least in part, on music appendix information associated with the music.

11. The movement supporting method according to claim 1 , wherein recording a first movement sensor output signal when the user starts moving comprises determining a first movement tempo of a user when the user starts walking, jogging, or running, and wherein the first movement tempo value corresponds to a walking, jogging, or running pace of the user.

12. The movement supporting method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one movement sensor is selected from the group consisting of an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope, and a pedometer.

13. The movement supporting method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one movement sensor is configured for attachment to a part of a body of the user or is configured for attachment to clothing of the user.

14. A movement supporting apparatus comprising:
at least one movement sensor attachable to a user, wherein the at least one movement sensor is configured to record a first sensor output signal when the user starts moving and record a second sensor output signal during performance of an exercise by the user; and
at least one computer processor programmed to:
transform the first sensor output signal into a first autocorrection waveform by computing an autocorrection function of the first sensor output signal;
determine a first movement tempo value of the user based on the first autocorrection waveform;
set a target tempo of the exercise performed by the user, wherein the target tempo of the exercise is set based, at least in part, on the first movement tempo value;
transform the second sensor output signal into a second autocorrection waveform by computing an autocorrection function of the second sensor output signal;
determine, based on the second autocorrection waveform, a plurality of second movement tempo values of the user during performance of the exercise, where each of the plurality of second movement tempo values indicates a rate of physical movements performed by the user during a fixed time interval during performance of the exercise;
determine whether the plurality of second movement tempo values are outside of a target range that includes the target tempo for a predetermined period of time; and
output a warning when it is determined that the plurality of second movement tempo values are outside of the target range for the predetermined period of time, wherein outputting a warning comprises performing at least one action selected from the group consisting of changing a playback state of content being output by the movement supporting apparatus, outputting a sound, outputting a light, and generating a vibration, wherein outputting a warning comprises outputting a first warning when it is determined that the plurality of second movement tempo values exceed the target range for the predetermined period of time and outputting a second warning when it is determined that the plurality of second movement tempo values fall below the target range for the predetermined period of time, wherein the first warning and the second warning are different.

15. The movement supporting apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the target range has an upper allowable width and a lower allowable width above and below the target tempo, respectively.

16. The movement supporting apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the upper allowable width and the lower allowable width are functions of the target tempo and increase as the target tempo increases.

17. The movement supporting apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the at least one computer processor is further programmed to output the warnin

Assignees

• Sako Yoichiro
• Tamori Hirofumi
• Takatsuka Susumu
• Terauchi Toshiro
• Inoue Makoto
• Shirai Katsuya
• Takai Motoyuki
• Makino Kenichi
• Nakamura Takatoshi
• Komori Akihiro
• Sano Akane
• Sasaki Toru
• Sakai Yuichi
• Sony Corp

Inventors

• Sako Yoichiro
• Tamori Hirofumi
• Takatsuka Susumu
• Terauchi Toshiro
• Inoue Makoto
• Shirai Katsuya
• Takai Motoyuki
• Makino Kenichi
• Nakamura Takatoshi
• Komori Akihiro
• Sano Akane
• Sasaki Toru
• Sakai Yuichi

Classifications

• A63F2300/8047

  Music games · CPC title

• A63F13/814

  Musical performances, e.g. by evaluating the player's ability to follow a notation · CPC title

• A63F13/44

  involving timing of operations, e.g. performing an action within a time slot · CPC title

• A63F2300/638

  according to the timing of operation or a time limit · CPC title

• A63F13/428

  involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes · CPC title