Closed-Loop Power Dissipation Control For Cardio-Fitness Equipment

Abstract

Various embodiments of the present invention provide (a) an inexpensive apparatus enabling the measurement of power dissipated by the rider of a cardio-fitness station (or any other stationary bicycle) that does not depend on manufacturing tolerances or machine condition variations, and (b) a method of using the data measured by such an apparatus to improve the accuracy of exercise condition settings by implementing the invented apparatus into a closed-loop control system which improves the quality of the exercise experience and enhances the adoption of exercise on a cardio-fitness station employing this as a community activity.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 817,657, filed Jun. 28, 2006, and entitled “Closed-Loop Power Dissipation Control For Cardio-Fitness Equipment,” by John Fisher et al., and is hereby incorporated herein by reference.[0002]This application is related to and cross-references U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 433,778, filed May 11, 2006, and entitled “Cardio-Fitness Station With Virtual-Reality Capability,” by John Fisher et al., the contents of which application are hereby incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND[0003]1. Field of Invention[0004]This invention relates to stationary exercise equipment and power dissipation control used by such equipment. More specifically, the invention relates to closed-loop power dissipation control for cardio-fitness equipment.Background of the Invention[0005]A major sports equipment industry has developed over the last decades round providing fitness equipment for home and indoors exerci...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0017]One embodiment of the present invention provides an inexpensive apparatus enabling measurement of power dissipated by the rider of a cardiofitness station (or any other stationary exercise equipment) that does not depend on the manufacturer, manufacturing tolerances, or machine condition. In addition, a method of using the data measured by such an apparatus to improve the quality of the exercise experience is provided.

Problems solved by technology

A fact not immediately apparent to an average rider of stationary equipments is that their performance, i.e., the resistance to pedal these cardio-fitness stations under a specified setting or virtual terrain slope, is not always consistent among the stations.

This is noticeable when one rider is racing another rider riding another unit and the other rider may have an easier time making it to the finish line.

Furthermore, for a given constant cadence and same resistance setting, stationary equipment will deliver pedal resistance that depends on the history of the cadence and torque in a practically unpredictable manner due to the cumulative effect of machine temperature and wear.

All these problems arise from the fact that pedal-rotation-resistance mechanism implemented in present-day exercise equipments is not intended for such precise setting and repeatability of pedal torque, which has been the choice of the manufacturers for cost reasons and the fact that it was not required by the riders.

Such variation ultimately yields unsatisfactory accuracy of power dissipation and an incorrect assessment of total amount of work that rider has performed during his or her exercise session, which makes it next to impossible to execute a fair race between riders on two separate cardio-fitness stations.

Although options for adjusting the resistance are provided, there is no precise measurement of the torque induced with the belt, and hence no attempt is made to correct the tightness of the belt to meet the setting.

This is generally done for every design, namely, an identical formula or look-up table for a specific model, but is not cost effective to evaluate on every unit a company ships.

Even if this were done for every unit, the systematic variation and wear on the equipment could not be predicted, and therefore the look-up table would not be solving the entire problem—it would drift out of sync over time.

This is because the gap, which is air filled, dramatically impacts the magnetic circuit made up from the electromagnet and the flywheel.

These factors make the relationship between the pedaling resistance and the current energizing the electromagnets very difficult to predict and repeat.

Consequently, the tracking between the pedal resistance setting and the actual value of pedal resistance is insufficient to produce consistent exercise results and / or fair competition done on two cardio-fitness stations of the same design.

This is a potential disadvantage of all prior art commercially available stationary bicycles.

However, these tools are used in research environments for monitoring and have not been manufactured in a form suitable for commercial products.

The primary reasons for this are cost and complexity needed to implement a sophisticated power monitoring system.

In addition, it has never become apparent that an accurate calibration of exercise equipment would be needed.

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