Automatic Exercise Device Pairing via Server-Mediated Identifier Matching
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The pairing of exercise devices with user terminals is often cumbersome due to the need for user actions and insufficient user interfaces, making the process complex and uncomfortable for users.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a server computer to automatically detect and associate unique device identifiers with user accounts, allowing for secure and efficient pairing of exercise devices with user terminals without the need for manual input, utilizing wireless communication protocols like Bluetooth and WiFi to establish connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual pairing actions are required, then device connection can be established, but user comfort decreases and operation becomes cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs automatic device discovery and pairing without requiring manual user actions. The user terminal automatically detects exercise devices, retrieves their identifiers, and establishes connections through the server, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring continuous user intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The server pre-stores device identifiers and maintains a database of exercise devices before pairing is needed. This preliminary preparation enables the user terminal to quickly retrieve and use stored identifiers for automatic pairing, eliminating the need for manual device search and connection setup during exercise sessions.
2Reliability
If proximity technologies are used for pairing, then device connection is enabled, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The server acts as an intermediary between the user terminal and exercise devices. Instead of requiring direct proximity-based communication between devices, the server mediates the pairing process by storing device identifiers and facilitating connections, thereby reducing the need for complex proximity technologies in the end devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces physical proximity-based pairing mechanisms with a network-based identification system. Instead of relying on mechanical or physical proximity technologies like NFC or Bluetooth handshaking, the system uses server-mediated identifier retrieval and matching, substituting a simpler digital identification approach for complex proximity technologies.
3Ease of operation
If user interface is enhanced for pairing, then pairing capability improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex pairing logic and device identifier management functionality from the user terminal and exercise devices, relocating it to the server. This extraction allows the user terminal and exercise devices to have simpler interfaces, as the heavy lifting of device discovery, identifier management, and pairing coordination is performed remotely by the server.
4Ease of operation
If automatic pairing is implemented, then user comfort increases and operation simplifies, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges device discovery, identifier storage, pairing coordination, and connection management functions into a single centralized server system. By combining these previously distributed functions into one unified service, the system achieves automatic pairing without requiring each device to independently handle complex pairing logic, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining automation.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~4
Figure 5
AI summary
A server computer to provide a web service (106) including exercise data user accounts, acquire and store a unique device identifier of at least one physiological sensor device (130-134), associate each of the acquired at least one device identifier with one of the exercise data user accounts, detect that an exercise application of a user terminal (140) successfully accesses a specific exercise data user account, and provide the user terminal (140) with the at least one device identifier which is associated with the specific exercise data user account. There is further provided a user terminal (140) to successfully access the specific exercise data user account in the web service (106), acquire the at least one device identifier from the web service (106), and apply the acquired at least one device identifier in determining whether or not to allow the user terminal (140) to wirelessly pair with a physiological sensor device (130-134).