Quick login to user profile on exercise machine

Abstract

A personal mobile device such as a music player or mobile telephone is equipped with the capability to easily authenticate users into a public gym and into individual exercise equipment at the gym.

Description

[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61 / 878,835, filed Sep. 17, 2013.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present application relates generally to digital ecosystems that are configured for use when engaging in physical activity and / or fitness exercises.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Society is becoming increasingly health-conscious. A wide variety of exercise and workouts are now offered to encourage people to stay fit through exercise. As understood herein, while stationary exercise equipment often comes equipped with data displays for the information of the exerciser, the information is not tailored to the individual and is frequently repetitive and monotonous. As further understood herein, people enjoy listening to music as workout aids but the music typically is whatever is broadcast within a gymnasium or provided on a recording device the user may wear, again being potentially monotonous and unchanging in pattern and beat in a way...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005]Present principles provide a music player such as a Walkman® or MP3 player to enable easy authentication to enter a gymnasium (“gym”) to automatically confirm that the individual is a member and has access to the gym. This may done using a near field communication (NFC) method that employs, for example, Bluetooth or radio frequency identification (RFID). By using a connection method such as NFC, individuals can use their music player to quickly set the exercise equipment to their personal account, which can be stored on a remote server for easy access via multiple devices and locations. The user's personal account can include information such as workout / exercise history, exercise plan, workout goals, and basic user information such as heart rate target zones, weight, height, age, and gender. In addition, the account can be linked to the individual's personal media library, which can then be streamed wirelessly to their headphones so that there is no need for the music to be locally stored on the music player. Following the workout, the equipment sends workout data to the individual's personal account, which may be stored on an Internet server.

[0006]Accordingly, present principles avoid requiring a person to manually type in a username and password into every exercise machine the person employs, simplifying the experience of being in a gym with multiple pieces of equipment, since logging in to a machine (and to the gym entrance itself) is simply and quickly done using NFC. Present principles also make it easier to collect and store exercise data, so the individual can more easily have a complete picture of their activity.

Problems solved by technology

As understood herein, while stationary exercise equipment often comes equipped with data displays for the information of the exerciser, the information is not tailored to the individual and is frequently repetitive and monotonous.

As further understood herein, people enjoy listening to music as workout aids but the music typically is whatever is broadcast within a gymnasium or provided on a recording device the user may wear, again being potentially monotonous and unchanging in pattern and beat in a way that is uncoupled from the actual exercise being engaged in.

This can require manual login with a user name and password on each machine the user seeks to employ, which is repetitive and frustrating.

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