Performance Monitor Calibration Using Activity-Heart Rate Association

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing user-specific performance monitors provide unrealistic activity measurement results due to inaccuracies in performance parameter calculations, as they fail to effectively calibrate performance parameters without heart rate measurement.

Innovation Solution

A method and software product that associate activity information with heart rate information to calibrate user-specific performance monitors, allowing for the determination of performance parameters without direct heart rate measurement, using activity and association information to improve accuracy.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If activity measurement is used to determine performance parameters, then the performance monitor can operate without heart rate measurement, but the performance parameter values become unrealistic and inaccurate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveoperation without heart rate measurementVSAvoidperformance parameter accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary calibration by measuring both activity information and heart rate information during calibration activities. This preliminary action creates an association between activity data and heart rate data, enabling the system to later determine performance parameters using only activity information without direct heart rate measurement, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and measurement precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Measurement precision

If heart rate measurement is used to determine performance parameters, then accurate performance parameter values are obtained, but the device complexity and measurement requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveperformance parameter accuracyVSAvoidmeasurement system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention extracts the essential calibration information by associating activity information with heart rate information during a calibration phase. Once the association is established, the system can extract performance parameter determinations using only activity information, removing the need for continuous heart rate measurement and thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Device complexity

If activity information alone is used to determine performance parameters, then the calibration process is simplified, but the performance parameter values do not provide realistic results

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecalibration process simplicityVSAvoidperformance parameter realism
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses feedback from heart rate measurements during the calibration phase to adjust and refine the association between activity information and performance parameters. This feedback mechanism ensures that the simplified calibration process using only activity information still produces realistic and accurate performance parameter values by learning from actual heart rate responses.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP1862117B1Calibration of performance monitor
Publication Date: 2011.09.07 POLAR ELECTRO
  • EP1862117B1 patent drawingFigure 1~3
  • EP1862117B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5
  • EP1862117B1 patent drawingFigure 6~7

AI summary

In the solution of the invention, an association is formed (702) between activity information characterizing the activity level of a user and a performance parameter value proportional to the heart rate information of the user, the activity information and heart rate information having been measured in a user-specific performance monitor, and the heart rate information being responsive to the activity level.