CN107928629B

CN107928629B - Portable monitoring device and method of operating the same

Info

Publication number: CN107928629B
Application number: CN201711268266.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 詹姆斯·帕克; 艾斯林·阿比盖尔·比洛多克斯-杜威; 克里斯汀·布默·布伦贝克
Original assignee: Fitbit LLC
Current assignee: Feibit Co ltd
Priority date: 2013-06-03
Filing date: 2014-09-17
Publication date: 2021-06-11
Anticipated expiration: 2034-09-17
Also published as: CN107928629A

Abstract

In one aspect of the disclosed implementation, a device includes one or more motion sensors for sensing motion of the device and providing activity data indicative of the sensed motion. The device also includes one or more feedback devices for providing feedback, notifications, or indications to the user based on the monitoring. The device also includes means for monitoring the activity data, means for determining one or more activity metrics based on the activity data, and means for causing one or more of the feedback devices to generate an indication to the user that an activity goal has been achieved by the user based on one or more of the activity metrics. The device further includes a portable housing enclosing at least portions of the motion sensor, the processor, and the feedback device.

Description

Portable monitoring device and method of operating the same

The present application is a divisional application of an invention patent application having an application number of "201410475446. X", an application date of 2014, 9 and 17, and an invention name of "portable monitoring device and method of operating the same".

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a portable monitoring device and a method of operating the same.

Background

Increasing consumer interest in personal health has led to the development of a variety of personal health monitoring devices. Such devices tend to be complex to use, or are typically designed for use with only one activity: such as running or cycling, rather than both together. More recent advances in the miniaturization of sensors, power supplies, and other electronics or components have enabled personal health monitoring devices to be provided in smaller sizes, form factors, or shapes than previously feasible or commercially practical. For example, Fitbit Ultra (manufactured by Fitbit corporation, san francisco, ca, headquarters) is a biometric monitoring device that is approximately 2 "long, 0.75" wide, and 0.5 "deep. The fitsit Ultra has a pixilated display, battery, sensors, wireless communication capability, power and interface buttons, and an integrated clip for attaching the device to a pocket or other portion of clothing, all enclosed within this small volume.

Disclosure of Invention

The details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. Note that the relative dimensions of the following figures may not be drawn to scale unless explicitly indicated as scaled figures.

In one aspect of the disclosed implementation, a device includes one or more motion sensors for sensing motion of the device and providing activity data indicative of the sensed motion. The device also includes one or more feedback devices for providing feedback, notifications, or indications to a user based on the monitoring. The device also includes means for monitoring the activity data, means for determining one or more activity metrics based on the activity data, and means for causing one or more of the feedback devices to generate an indication to the user that an activity goal has been achieved by the user based on one or more of the activity metrics. The device further includes a portable housing enclosing at least portions of the motion sensor, the processor, and the feedback device.

In some implementations, the device further includes a memory, and the processor is further configured to store the activity data or data derived from the activity data in the memory. In some implementations, the memory additionally stores one or more default activity targets, and the processor is configured to access one or more of the default activity targets while the processor monitors activity data.

In some implementations, the device is configured to enable a user to set, select, or modify one or more user-customizable activity goals based on user input. In some such implementations the device further includes one or more user input devices included in or on the housing for receiving or sensing user input, and the processor is further configured to receive and interpret the user input received or sensed via one or more of the user input devices. In some implementations, the device further includes transmit and receive circuitry, the user input is input by the user via an external or remote device and then communicated to receive circuitry, and the processor is further configured to receive and interpret the user input received from the receive circuitry. In some such implementations, the transmit and receive circuitry is configured for wireless communication over a computer network and the user input is input via a network or a mobile application.

In some implementations, the processor is further configured to switch between a plurality of mobile data tracking modes including one or more active tracking modes. In some such implementations, one or more activity targets depend on which activity tracking modes of the device are currently active. In some implementations, the device includes means for storing one or more activity targets for each of one or more of the activity tracking modes, and the processor is configured to access one or more of the stored activity targets associated with a particular activity tracking mode when the device is operating in an activity tracking mode. In some implementations, the processor is configured to automatically exit the corresponding activity tracking mode based on achievement of the associated activity goal.

In some embodiments, one or more of the activity goals include one or more characteristics including time of activity, duration of activity, distance of activity, number of steps, elevation change, pace, maximum speed, and estimated amount of calories used. In some embodiments of the present invention, the substrate is,

in some implementations, the one or more feedback devices include one or more of: one or more display devices, one or more lamps, and one or more sound producing devices. In some implementations, the one or more feedback devices additionally or alternatively include one or more vibration devices. In some such implementations, the device is configured to enable a user to set, select, or modify a vibration pattern or other vibration characteristic of the vibration indication of the achieved goal based on user input. In some such implementations, the processor is configured to cause one or more of the vibration devices to vibrate as an indication to the user that an activity goal has been achieved by the user without displaying an indication to the user on a display that an activity goal has been achieved without additional user input from the user.

In some implementations, the processor is further configured to cause one or more of the feedback devices to provide an indication to the user of one or more default or user-defined process points reached en route to one or more activity goals based on one or more of the activity metrics. In some implementations, the processor is further configured to cause one or more of the feedback devices to provide an indication of a prompt, an appointment, receipt of a message, a device condition, or a health condition to the user.

In some implementations, the processor is further configured to cause one or more of the feedback devices to provide an indication of an alarm to the user. In some such implementations, the one or more feedback devices include one or more vibration devices, and the device is configured to enable a user to set or select a vibration pattern or other vibration characteristic of the alarm clock based on user input. In some implementations, the processor is configured to automatically exit an annotated sleep tracking state or sleep tracking mode based on the alarm clock. In some implementations, the processor is configured to automatically exit the annotated sleep tracking state or sleep tracking mode in response to turning off the alarm clock. In some implementations, the device is configured to enable a user to set or select a time window during which the processor causes one or more of the feedback devices to provide an indication of an alarm, and the processor is configured to determine an appropriate or optimal time within the time window to cause the feedback devices to indicate the alarm based on one or more sleep metrics or based on a sleep stage as determined based on one or more sleep metrics.

In some implementations, the device further includes a memory and a processor configured to store one or more of the achieved goals in the memory. In some implementations, the device further includes transmit and receive circuitry for transmitting target achievement data to a remote computing system that can track and store the achieved targets. In some implementations, the processor is configured to restart or reinitialize one or more of the targets after the targets are reached. In some implementations, the processor is configured to restart or reinitialize one or more of the targets periodically (e.g., daily).

In some implementations, the housing includes a wrist or arm band, the housing configured for physical attachment to or coupling with the wrist or arm band, or configured for insertion into the wrist or arm band.

In another aspect of the disclosed implementation, a device includes one or more motion sensors for sensing motion of the device and providing activity data indicative of the sensed motion. The device also includes one or more processors for tracking or storing the activity data. The device also includes one or more vibration devices for causing the device to vibrate to provide feedback, notifications, or indications to a user based on the activity data. The device further includes a portable housing enclosing at least portions of the motion sensor, the processor, and the vibration device.

Drawings

Various implementations disclosed herein are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals may refer to similar elements.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of an example portable monitoring device.

Fig. 2 depicts a portable monitoring device that may be inserted into a cradle with a belt clip or into a pocket on a wrist strap.

FIG. 3 depicts a portable monitoring device that may be worn on a person's forearm like a watch.

Fig. 4 depicts another example of a portable monitoring device that may be worn on a person's forearm.

Detailed Description

The present invention relates generally to portable monitoring devices (also referred to herein as "portable tracking devices" or simply "devices"), and more particularly to wearable monitoring devices including wearable biometric monitoring devices. Various implementations relate to portable monitoring devices capable of monitoring and tracking actions or activities and related data. For example, the portable monitoring device may include one or more motion sensors for detecting movement data or various other biometric, physiological, or environmental sensors (also collectively referred to hereinafter as "activity data") for detecting biometric data, physiological data, environmental data, or related data. In some example implementations, the portable monitoring device includes a general or default activity tracking mode. In some such implementations, the default activity tracking mode is the "annotation mode". In some such implementations, activity data monitored or tracked while in the annotation mode (hereinafter "monitoring" and "tracking" are used interchangeably) may be annotated or otherwise tagged, indicating, specifying, or demarcating start and stop time points, durations, or other time points of or within an activity session.

For purposes of the present invention, an "active session" may generally refer to a user-defined duration, or a duration associated with a particular activity or time of day, in which a device is monitoring activity data. In some embodiments, the activity data monitored while in the default annotation mode may also be annotated or otherwise marked, indicating, specifying, or defining a particular activity performed by the user during the activity session, such as walking, running, climbing stairs, riding a bicycle, swimming, or even sleeping. In various embodiments, the user may annotate the activity data before, during, or after completion of the associated activity. In various implementations, one or more activity metrics may be determined, calculated, or analyzed based on the activity data. In some such implementations, the activity metric is communicated to the user via a display, a lighting system, noise, or via vibration or tactile feedback. In some implementations, one or more achieved goals, progress indicators, reminders, or other activity-based notifications may be communicated to the user based on one or more of the activity metrics. Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, one or more alarms, reminders, or other time, physiological, biometric, status, condition, or context based notifications may also be communicated to the user. Such achieved goals, progress indicators, reminders, or other notifications may be communicated to the user via a display, lighting system, noise, or via vibration or tactile feedback.

In some other implementations, the portable monitoring device is capable of switching between two or more modes, such as two or more active tracking modes. In some such implementations, the two or more activity tracking modes include one or more activity-specific activity tracking modes including, for example, a walking mode, a running mode, a stair climbing mode, a cycling mode, a swimming mode, a climbing mode, and a golf playing mode, as well as other example activity tracking modes configured for other corresponding activities. In some implementations, the two or more active tracking modes may also include a sleep tracking mode. In some implementations, the portable monitoring device itself may determine which activity data to monitor or which activity (or sleep) metrics to determine, compute, calculate, track, or analyze (used interchangeably hereinafter) based on which of the activity tracking modes is currently active or initiated (hereinafter "sleep metrics" may also be generally referred to as "activity metrics"). Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, one or both of the external computing device or the back-end server may request certain activity data from the portable monitoring device based on which of the activity tracking modes is currently active or initiated. Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, one or both of the external computing device or the backend server may receive all activity data monitored by the portable monitoring device, and then filter or otherwise selectively process certain activity data to determine certain activity (or sleep) metrics based on which of the activity tracking modes is currently active or initiated.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of an example portable monitoring device 100. The portable monitoring device 100 includes one or more sensors 102. The portable monitoring device 100 also includes a processing unit 104, a memory 106, a user interface 108, and an input/output (I/O) interface 110. The one or more sensors 102, processing unit 104, memory 106, user interface 108, and I/O interface 110 are communicatively connected with one or more of each other via one or more communication paths collectively referred to as a communication bus 112. The portable monitoring device 100 further includes a power source 114, such as one or more rechargeable or removable batteries.

The sensors 102 include one or more motion sensors configured for sensing and outputting movement data indicative of motion of the portable monitoring device 100. For example, the motion sensor may include one or more accelerometers for sensing movement data. In some implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 includes one or more accelerometers for sensing acceleration or other movement data in each of three directions, such as possibly orthogonal. The sensor 102 may additionally include one or more gyroscopes for sensing rotational data. In some implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 includes one or more gyroscopes for sensing rotation about each of three axes, which may be orthogonal, for example. As will be described later, movement data and rotation data may also be used to capture user input. The sensor 102 may additionally include one or more altimeters (also referred to as "altitude sensors" hereinafter). For example, the portable monitoring device 100 may include a pressure or barometric altimeter. The sensors 102 additionally may include one or more temperature sensors for sensing one or both of an ambient temperature outside of the user's body or an internal temperature of the user's body. The sensor 102 may additionally include one or more light sensors (e.g., photodetectors). For example, a light sensor may be used to detect an ambient light level of an environment used in, for example, determining a suitable or optimal intensity of a display of the portable monitoring device 100. Other light sensors may be used to collect other biometric data such as blood oxygen levels of the user. The sensors 102 may also include one or more pressure or proximity sensors for receiving user input. Such pressure or proximity sensors may be based on mechanical design or based on, for example, capacitive, resistive, or other electrical or optical design. The portable monitoring device 100 may also be coupled with an external sensing device, such as an external heart rate monitor (e.g., a chest strap heart rate monitor) for sensing the user's heart rate. The portable monitoring device 100 may also include or be coupled with other physiological or biometric sensors. In some implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 is additionally configured to sense or monitor one or more other types of biometric data, or to measure, calculate, or determine biometric data based on movement, rotation, or other data described above. As used herein, biometric data may refer to virtually any data about the physical characteristics of a human body, and as described above, activity data may also refer to such biometric data.

Processing unit 104 may include one or more processors, processing circuits, computing units, computing circuits, controllers, or microcontrollers (used interchangeably hereinafter). Each of the processors may be implemented by a general-purpose or special-purpose processor (or set of processing cores), and may execute sequences of encoded instructions ("decode") to perform tasks and achieve various operations. Additionally or alternatively, the processing unit 104 may include a custom hardware ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) or may be programmed as a programmable logic device, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array). In some implementations, the memory 106 stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing unit 104, cause the processing unit 104 to control the sensor 102 to perform one or more of the following operations: sampling or extracting data received from the sensors 102, storing the received data in the memory 106, and retrieving or loading data previously stored in the memory 106. The activity data received from the sensors 102 may be stored in the memory 106 by the processing unit 104 in a raw format, or may be pre-processed before being stored in the memory 106. For example, the processing unit 104 may store or buffer the most recent 10 minutes of activity data in raw form, but then may store data from before the ten minute window as filtered data (e.g., with a lower sampling rate or with some form of numerical analysis, such as performing a moving average), or as converted data: for example, the acceleration data may be converted into activity metrics such as "steps taken", "stairs climbed", or "distance traveled".

The activity data from the sensor 102, including the raw data or the post-processed data, may be further analyzed to determine whether the activity data is indicative of a predefined biometric state or condition associated with the user input. If this analysis indicates that this data has been collected, then the processing unit 104 may process this event equivalently to the user input. In some embodiments, the processing unit 104 may also derive secondary data based on the raw activity data. In some implementations, the processing unit 104 also performs analysis on raw activity data received from the sensors 102 or on raw or previously processed ("post-processing") activity data retrieved from the memory 106, and initiates various actions based on the analysis. For example, processing unit 104 may track, determine, compute, calculate, or analyze one or more physiological, biometric, activity, or sleep metrics (hereinafter collectively referred to as "activity metrics") based on raw pre-processed or secondary activity data (also generally referred to herein as "activity data").

Memory 106 may include any suitable memory architecture. In some implementations, the memory 106 includes different classes of storage devices or units that store different classes of data. In some implementations, the memory 106 includes a non-volatile storage medium, such as a fixed or removable semiconductor, optical, or magnetic medium, for storing executable code (also referred to as "executable instructions") and related data for implementing the implementations and performing the processes described herein. In some implementations, the memory 106 is also configured for storing configuration data or other information for implementing various default or user-defined settings or for implementing default or activity-specific activity tracking modes described herein. The memory 106 may also be configured for storing other configuration data used during execution of various programs or sets of instructions or otherwise to configure the portable monitoring device 100. Additionally, any of the aforementioned raw activity data generated by the sensor 102, as well as pre-processed or derived data, may be stored in non-volatile storage media within the memory 106 for later analysis or other use. Additionally, in some implementations, the activity metrics computed by the processing unit 104 or received from an external computing device or server may also be stored in non-volatile storage media within the memory 106 for later analysis, review, or other use. In some implementations, the memory 106 also includes volatile storage media, such as static or dynamic Random Access Memory (RAM), for temporarily or non-permanently storing more transient information and other variable data, and executable code that is retrieved from the non-volatile storage media in some implementations. The volatile storage media may also store any of the foregoing data generated by the sensors 102 or data derived from sensed data (e.g., including activity or sleep tracking metrics) for later analysis, later storage in non-volatile media within the memory 106, or for subsequent communication via the I/O interface 110 via a wired or wireless connection. Processing unit 104 may additionally or alternatively include its own volatile memory, such as RAM, for loading executable code from non-volatile memory for execution by processing unit 104 or for tracking, analyzing, or otherwise processing any of the aforementioned data generated by sensors 102 or data derived from sensed data (e.g., including activity or sleep tracking metrics) for later analysis, later storage in non-volatile media within memory 106, or for subsequent communication via wired or wireless connections via I/O interface 110.

As will be described in greater detail below, the processing unit 104 may also be configured to track and determine when activity data received from the sensors 102 or retrieved from the memory 106 or activity metrics generated from such activity data indicate that a goal has been reached or a progress point has been reached. For example, such a goal may be a particular activity metric such as distance, number of steps, elevation change, or amount of calories burned, among other goals as described in more detail below. The processing unit 104 may then notify the user via the user interface 108 that the goal or process indicator was achieved. For example, the processing unit 104 may cause the display to show on the display a mark or celebrate the targeted content. Additionally or alternatively, the processing unit 104 may cause one or more lights (e.g., LEDs) to illuminate, flash, change intensity, or otherwise reflect a visual pattern or display that informs the user that a goal has been achieved. Additionally or alternatively, the processing unit 104 may cause one or more sound producing devices to alarm, beep, or otherwise produce noise that informs the user that a goal has been achieved. Additionally or alternatively, the processing unit 104 may cause one or more vibration devices to vibrate or otherwise provide tactile feedback in the form of one or more vibration patterns, and in some implementations, with different or varying vibration characteristics, informing the user that a particular goal has been achieved.

In some implementations, the user interface 108 refers to and includes one or more user input devices and one or more output devices collectively. The memory 106 may also store executable instructions that, when executed by the processing unit 104, cause the processing unit 104 to receive and interpret user input received via the user interface 108 or to output or communicate information to a user via the user interface 108. In various implementations, the user interface 108 may incorporate one or more types of user interfaces, including, for example, visual, audible, touch, vibration, or combinations thereof. For example, the user interface 108 may include one or more buttons in or on a device housing that encloses the processing unit 104, memory 106, and other electrical or mechanical components of the portable monitoring device 100. The buttons may be based on mechanical and electrical designs, and may incorporate, for example, one or more pressure sensors, proximity sensors, resistive sensors, capacitive sensors, or optical sensors. The user interface 108 may also include a trackpad or touchscreen interface, which may be disposed on or integrated with the display, and may incorporate these or other types of sensors.

In some implementations, the aforementioned motion sensors, gyroscopes, or other sensors may also be used to detect body gestures corresponding to user inputs. This allows the user to interact with the device using body gestures. For example, accelerometers and gyroscopes may be used to detect when a user "taps," shakes, rotates, flicks, or makes other "gestures" on a portable monitoring device. As another example, the portable monitoring device 100 may include a magnetometer that can be used to detect the orientation of the device relative to the earth's magnetic field. Other gestures that may be used to cause the portable monitoring device 100 to perform some action include, but are not limited to, multiple taps or a particular tap pattern. For example, a user may tap anywhere on the exterior (e.g., housing) of the portable monitoring device twice within a particular period of time, causing the display to show particular content, annotate activity data, or change device modes.

As just described, the user interface 108 may also include a display that may be included on or in a housing that encloses the processing unit 104 and memory 106. In various implementations, the display may be configured as an alphanumeric display, an instantly visible display, or an empty front display. The display may also include or be based on any suitable display technology, including Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) technology or Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology, among other suitable display technologies. The display may be configured to display various information to a user. In some implementations, the user can enter selections, navigate through menus, or enter other information via buttons, pressure sensors, proximity sensors, resistive sensors, capacitive sensors, optical sensors, or a touch screen incorporating these or other types of sensors.

In various implementations, the display may show activity data, biometric data, context data, environmental data, system or intrinsic condition data or data derived from activity or other sensed data, one or more activity metrics, one or more sleep metrics, a currently active activity tracking mode, one or more menus, one or more settings, one or more alarms or other indicators, a clock, a timer, "a horse watch," and other suitable information. In some implementations, the information displayed may be customized by the user or additionally or alternatively dependent on the current device state or mode of the portable monitoring device 100. For example, due to limited display space (in order to keep the portable monitoring device as small as possible, portable or wearable without sacrificing functionality or ease of use), the data displayed in association with each device state or mode may be partitioned into multiple different data display pages, and the user may "advance" the data display page associated with a given device state or mode by providing input to the biometric monitoring device.

The term "data display page" as used herein may refer to a visual display, such as an LED or other light (e.g., for use on a Fitbit Flex), that includes text, graphics, and/or indicators, arranged to communicate data measured, generated, or received by the portable monitoring device 100 to a user viewing the display of the portable monitoring device. To more dynamically change the display or provide notifications to the user, the portable monitoring device 100 may track its device state via a variety of mechanisms and transition between different device states as context state environment states or modes change. In some implementations, a device may include and be capable of operating in multiple active modes, multiple active environmental states, multiple active contextual states, or a combination of these simultaneously. In this case, the device state may be different for each different combination of environment state, context state, or mode.

In implementations including an annotation mode, the annotation data display page may indicate that the portable monitoring device 100 is in the annotation mode. When the portable monitoring device 100 is in the annotation mode (or, in other words, when the annotation mode is active or initiated), information related to the annotated activity may be displayed. For example, a data display page for various types of activity data or activity metrics may show the number measured while the portable monitoring device 100 is in the annotation mode. For example, a data display page of "steps taken" when operating in the annotation mode may only display the number of steps taken while the portable monitoring device 100 is in the annotation mode or in an active session defined using the annotation data (rather than, for example, the number of steps taken throughout the day, week, month, year, or during the lifetime of the device).

In an example implementation, if the portable monitoring device 100 is in a device state (e.g., an annotated sleep tracking state or sleep tracking mode) associated with the wearer falling asleep, it is unlikely for the wearer to enter information into or otherwise interact with the portable monitoring device. Thus, in some implementations, the processing unit 104 may reduce the sensitivity of various user input detection mechanisms (especially touch screens) (or turn off the display or the entire device entirely), thereby reducing the risk of accidental inputs or saving power. In other device states, it may be desirable to change the user input method based on the limitations of the various input mechanisms in various environments. For example, if the portable monitoring device 100 determines that it is in a device state associated with swimming (e.g., the portable monitoring device 100 may be configured to independently determine that it is in water via humidity sensor or pressure sensor data), or if the portable monitoring device is actively placed in swimming mode by a user via the user interface 108, in some implementations, the touch screen interface or other user interface of the portable monitoring device 100 may be deactivated because it may not function well in water. The wearer may alternatively interact with the portable monitoring device 100 using physical buttons or other suitable or suitable input mechanisms, including body gestures sensed by the device.

In addition to the display, the portable monitoring device 100 (and in particular the user interface 108) may also include other mechanisms to provide feedback or other information to the user. For example, the user interface 108 may include one or more lights (e.g., one or more LEDs) and a display for communicating information to the user (e.g., goals achieved, alarms, reminders, indicators or other notifications, current status, current mode, or power level). For example, the processing unit 104 may control the intensity, color, or pattern of the flashing of one or more of the LEDs of the user interface 108 based on what information is conveyed. In some implementations, the user interface 108 additionally or alternatively includes one or more speakers or sound production devices. The user interface 108 may also include one or more microphones or other audio devices.

In some implementations, the user interface 108 includes one or more vibration motors (also referred to herein as "vibrators" or simply "vibration devices") for communicating information to or to a user. For example, the processing unit 104 may utilize a vibration motor to communicate one or more alarm clocks, goals achieved, progress indicators, inactivity indicators, reminders, indications of timer expiration, or other indicators, feedback, or notifications to a user wearing or holding the portable monitoring device 100. In some such implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 may utilize a vibration motor to communicate this information to the user, as well as communicate the same or similar information via a display, lights, or sound making device. In some other such implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 may utilize a vibration motor to communicate this information to the user instead of, or in lieu of, communicating the same or similar information via a display, lights, or sound making device. For example, in the case of an alarm clock, a vibration motor may cause the portable monitoring device 100 to vibrate, causing the user to wake up from sleep, while not making noise so as not to wake up the user's companion. As another example, in the case of a goal achievement or progress indicator, a vibration motor may cause the portable monitoring device 100 to vibrate, alerting the user that the user has achieved the user's goal or has reached a milestone or other point of progress en route to the goal without requiring the user to look at the display or hear an indication output from a speaker. In some implementations, a user may define one or more customized vibration patterns or other vibration characteristics, and assign such different vibration patterns or other vibration characteristics to different alarms, targets, or other vibration indicators so that the user can distinguish between the vibration indicators to determine what information is conveyed by the portable monitoring device 100. Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, a user may select one or more default vibration patterns or other vibration characteristics stored in memory 106, and assign such different vibration patterns or other vibration characteristics to various vibration indicators. Such modes, characteristics, or settings may be customizable by a user in various implementations, or such selections may be made via the user interface 108 or via applications or programs (including web applications, mobile applications, or client-side software programs) executing on an external computing device (e.g., a personal computer, smartphone, or multimedia device) communicatively coupled with the portable monitoring device 100 via the I/O interface 110 and one or more wired or wireless connections or networks.

In some implementations, as described above, one or more of the sensors 102 may also themselves be used to implement at least a portion of the user interface 108. For example, one or more accelerometers or other motion sensors 102 may be used to detect when a person taps the housing of the portable monitoring device 100 with a finger or other object, and then interpret this data as user input for the purpose of controlling the portable monitoring device 100. For example, a double tap of the housing of the portable monitoring device 100 may be recognized by the processing unit 104 as a user input that will cause the display of the portable monitoring device to turn on from an off state or that will cause the portable monitoring device to transition between different monitoring states, sessions, or modes. For example, in implementations where the portable monitoring device includes a single annotation or other general activity tracking mode, a tap may cause the processing unit 104 to switch from a state where the portable monitoring device 100 collects and interprets activity data according to rules established for "active" people to a state where the portable monitoring device collects and interprets activity data according to rules established for "sleeping" or "stationary" people. As another example, tapping the housing of the portable monitoring device 100 may be recognized by the processing unit 104 as a user input that will annotate the monitored activity data, such as by a start or end time of the activity session, for example, indicating a user-defined duration. In some other implementations (e.g., in implementations in which the portable monitoring device 100 includes two or more activity-specific activity tracking modes), the tap may cause the processing unit 104 to switch from one activity-specific activity tracking mode to another activity-specific activity tracking mode. For example, a tap may cause the processing unit 104 to switch from a walking mode in which the portable monitoring device 100 collects and interprets activity data according to rules established for a "walking" person to a cycling mode in which the portable monitoring device interprets data according to rules established for a cycling rider.

In some implementations, the processing unit 104 may communicate the activity data received from the sensors 102 or retrieved from the memory 106 to an external or remote computing device (e.g., a personal computer, smartphone, or multimedia device) via the I/O interface 110 or to a backend server via one or more computer networks. In some implementations, the I/O interface 110 includes a transmitter and receiver (also referred to herein collectively as a "transceiver" or simply "transmit and receive circuitry") that can transmit activity data or other information to one or more external computing devices, or to one or more back-end servers (either directly via one or more networks or indirectly via external computing devices that first receive activity data and then communicate data to the back-end servers via one or more networks) via a wired or wireless connection. For example, memory 106 may also store executable instructions that, when executed by processing unit 104, cause processing unit 104 to transmit and receive information via I/O interface 110. In some implementations, the one or more computer networks include one or more Local Area Networks (LANs), private networks, social networks, or Wide Area Networks (WANs) including the internet. The I/O interface 110 may include wireless communication functionality such that when the portable monitoring device 100 comes within range of a wireless base station or access point or within range of some equipped external computing device (e.g., a personal computer, smartphone, or multimedia device), some activity data or other data is automatically synchronized or uploaded to an external computing device or back end server for further analysis, processing, review, or storage. In various implementations, the wireless communication functionality of the I/O interface 110 may be provided or enabled via one or more communication technologies known in the art (e.g., Wi-Fi, bluetooth, RFID, Near Field Communication (NFC), Zigbee, Ant, optical data transmission, and other communication technologies). Additionally or alternatively, the I/O interface 110 may also include wired communication capabilities, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface.

In some implementations, one or more back-end servers or computing systems may support web-based applications ("web applications"), websites, web pages, or web portals (hereinafter "web applications," "web pages," "websites," and "web portals" are used interchangeably), enabling users to interact with portable monitoring device 100 remotely, or interact with or view activity data or activity metrics computed based on activity data, via any computing device (e.g., personal computer, smartphone, or multimedia device) capable of supporting a web browser or other web client suitable for presenting web pages or web-based applications. For example, in some implementations, the data may be stored, e.g., using a web browser or web-based application, at an internet-viewable or internet-accessible source, such as a website (e.g., www.Fitbit.com) that permits viewing of the activity data or data derived or calculated therefrom or activity metrics. Hereinafter, references to a web application, web page, web site, or web portal may refer to any structured file or user interface that enables a client device to be viewed via any of one or more of the described networks or other suitable networks or communication links.

For example, while the user is wearing the portable monitoring device 100, the processing unit 104 may calculate the user's number of steps based on activity data received from the one or more sensors 102. The processing unit 104 may temporarily store the activity data and the calculated step number in the memory 106. Processing unit 104 may then transmit the step count or raw or pre-processed activity data representing the user's step count to a network service via I/O interface 110 (e.g.,www.fitbit.com) Account on, external computing device such as a personal computer or mobile telephone (especially a smartphone), orTo a healthcare station that can be stored, further processed, and observed by the user or a friend of the user.

Further embodiments regarding the use of short-range wireless Communication are described in U.S. patent application No. 13/785,904 entitled Near Field Communication System and Method of Operating Same, filed on 3/5 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In various implementations, activity metrics may be tracked, determined, calculated, or analyzed by the processing unit 104 or by an external computing device or backend server based on activity data transmitted from the portable monitoring device 100, including, for example, energy expenditure (e.g., calories burned), distance traveled, steps taken, stairs or floors climbed or descended, elevation obtained or lost (e.g., based on an altimeter or global satellite positioning (GPS) device), pace, maximum speed, location, direction, heading, walking speed, revolutions or distance traveled, swimming stroke count, swimming return count, swimming distance, bicycle riding speed, heart rate, variability heart rate, heart rate recovery, blood pressure, blood glucose, blood oxygen level, skin conductance, skin or body temperature, electromyography data, for example, Electroencephalographic data, body weight, body fat, calorie intake, nutrient intake from food, drug intake, sleep period, sleep phase, sleep quality, sleep duration, pH level, hydration level, and respiration rate. In some embodiments, the processing unit 104 also tracks, determines, or calculates metrics related to the user's surroundings, such as one or more of: barometric pressure, temperature, humidity, rain/snow conditions, wind speed, other weather conditions, light exposure (ambient light), Ultraviolet (UV) exposure, time or duration spent in darkness, pollen count, air quality, noise exposure, radiation exposure, and magnetic field. Some of the data used to calculate one or more of the just described metrics may be provided to the portable monitoring device from an external source. For example, the user may enter their height, weight, or stride in a user profile on a health tracking website, and then may communicate this information to the portable monitoring device 100 via the I/O interface 110, and use the information in conjunction with activity data measured by the sensors 102 to assess the distance traveled or calories burned by the user.

A general list of possible types of sensors 102 and activity data types is shown below in table 1. This list is not exclusive and other types of sensors than those listed may be used. Further, data potentially derivable from the listed sensors may also be derived in whole or in part from other sensors. For example, evaluation of a climbed stair may involve evaluating altitude count data to determine an altitude change, evaluating clock data to determine a degree of rapidity of the altitude change, and evaluating accelerometer data to determine whether the biometric monitoring device is worn by a person walking (as opposed to standing still).

TABLE 1

In addition to the above, some biometric data may be calculated or estimated by the portable monitoring device 100 without direct reference to the data obtained from the sensors 102. For example, a person's basal metabolic rate, which is a measure of the "default" calorie expenditure experienced by the person at rest all day (in other words, simply providing energy for basic bodily functions such as respiration, blood circulation, etc.), may be calculated based on data entered by the user via the user interface 108 or via applications or programs (including web applications, mobile application client-side software programs) executing on an external computing device (e.g., a personal computer, smartphone, or multimedia device) communicatively coupled with the portable monitoring device 100 via the I/O interface 110 and one or more wired or wireless connections or networks. This user-entered data may be used in conjunction with data from an internal clock indicating time of day to determine how many calories a person has paid so far in a day to provide energy for basic body functions.

As described above, in some example implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 (and in particular the processing unit 104) includes a default activity tracking mode, also referred to herein as an "annotation" mode. In some such implementations, the activity data monitored while in the default annotation mode may be annotated or otherwise marked, indicating, specifying, or demarcating start and stop points in time or other points in time within the active session and the active session. Again, for purposes of this disclosure, an "activity session" may generally refer to a user-defined duration, or a duration associated with a particular activity or time of day, in which the device is monitoring activity data. In some embodiments, the activity data monitored while in the annotation mode may also be annotated or otherwise marked, indicating, specifying, or defining a particular activity performed by the user during the activity session, such as walking, running, climbing stairs, riding a bicycle, swimming, or even sleeping. In various embodiments, the user may annotate the activity data before, during, or after completion of the associated activity.

In some implementations, the user can annotate the activity session via physical interaction with the portable monitoring device 100 itself. For example, the user may annotate the activity data using any of the above-described components, such as may be included within the user interface 108. Additionally or alternatively, the user may annotate the active session via an external or remote computer (e.g., personal computer, smartphone, or multimedia device). In some such implementations, one or both of the portable monitoring device 100 and the coupled external computing device may also communicate with one or more back-end servers as described above. In some such implementations, the portable monitoring device or external computing device may transmit annotations (also referred to herein as "annotation data"), activity data, and information about the portable monitoring device or the user to a server for storage and, in some implementations, additional processing or analysis.

In some such implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 (and in particular the processing unit 104) is configured to monitor the same type of activity data in the same manner using the sensors 102 regardless of the activity performed or in which the user is currently engaged. That is, in some embodiments, regardless of the activity the user is engaged in (assuming it is walking, running, climbing stairs, cycling, swimming, or even sleeping), the same sensors are used to sense motion or other sensed activity data in the same manner. In some implementations in which the processing unit 104 is configured to determine, calculate, or analyze one or more activity metrics, the processing unit itself may determine which activity metrics to determine, calculate, or analyze based on annotation data received for the activity session.

In some implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 may automatically annotate one or more active sessions. In some such implementations, the processing unit 104 may dynamically (e.g., substantially in real-time) analyze the activity data from the sensor 102 and automatically determine a start point, a stop point, or a record timestamp or other point in time that a mark or digital flag is stored in the memory 106 to annotate the activity data monitored in the activity session. In some other implementations, the processing unit may analyze the activity data retrieved from the memory 106 to automatically annotate the stored activity data. In still other implementations, the processing unit 104 may transmit the activity data via the I/O interface 110 to one or both of an external computing device (e.g., a personal computer, smartphone, or multimedia device) or a backend server (either directly via one or more wired or wireless networks or indirectly by way of an external computing device such as a personal computer, smartphone, or multimedia device in conjunction with one or more wired or wireless networks) that then automatically annotates the received activity data. In some of the foregoing embodiments, the annotation data may be stored with the corresponding activity data; that is, along with the active data in the same location within memory 106. In some other implementations, the annotation data may be stored within the memory 106 separately from the activity data, but correlated with the activity data by means of, for example, one or more tables and timestamps.

In an example implementation, if the portable monitoring device 100 is placed in the annotation mode before the wearer falls asleep, and then the portable monitoring device 100 is taken out of the annotation mode after the wearer wakes, such as via user interaction or based on sensed biometric or other activity data, the portable monitoring device 100 may record biometric data indicating that the wearer is mostly stationary and level during the time the biometric monitoring device is in the annotation mode. This, in conjunction with the time of day at which the annotated biometric data was collected, may cause the portable monitoring device to automatically annotate this data as "sleep" activity. Alternatively, the wearer of the biometric monitoring device may indicate that the annotated biometric data is associated with a particular activity, such as by typing a tag or other identifier of the activity associated with the annotated data after outputting the biometric data from the portable monitoring device to one more backend server via a website, web application, mobile application, or other application, or by entering such a tag or other identifier into an external computing device (e.g., a smartphone, multimedia device, or personal computer) that is paired with the portable monitoring device and within communication range of the portable monitoring device (and in particular the I/O interface 110).

In some other example implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 may automatically detect or determine when a user attempts to fall asleep, go to sleep, fall asleep, or be awakened from a sleep session. In some such implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 may use physiological, motion, or other sensors to obtain activity data. In some such implementations, the processing unit 104 then correlates the motion, heart rate variability, respiration rate, galvanic skin response, or a combination of one or more of skin or body temperature sensing, detecting or determining whether the user is attempting to fall asleep, go to sleep, fall asleep, or be awakened from a sleep session. In response, the portable monitoring device 100 may, for example, obtain physiological data (e.g., type and in a manner as described herein) or determine a physiological condition (e.g., type and in a manner as described herein) of the user. For example, a reduction or cessation of user motion combined with a decrease in the user's heart rate and/or a change in heart rate variability may indicate that the user is asleep. Subsequent changes in heart rate variability and galvanic skin response may be used to determine transitions in the user's sleep state between two or more stages of sleep (e.g., shallower and/or deeper sleep stages). The movement by the user and/or the elevation of the heart rate and/or changes in heart rate variability may be used to determine that the user has been awakened.

Real-time, windowed, or batch processing may be used to determine transitions between awake, sleep and sleep stages, and in other active stages. For example, a decrease in heart rate may be measured in a time window where the heart rate increases at the beginning of the window and decreases in the middle (and/or end) of the window. The wake and sleep stages may be classified by hidden markov models using motion signals (e.g., decreasing intensity), heart rate variability, skin temperature, galvanic skin response, and/or changes in ambient light levels. The transition point may be determined via a change point algorithm (e.g., bayesian change point analysis). The transition between wake and sleep may be determined by observing a period of time during which the user's heart rate decreases by at least some threshold for a predetermined time duration, but within predetermined limits of the user's resting heart rate (observed as, for example, the minimum heart rate of the user while sleeping). Similarly, the transition between sleep and awake may be determined by observing an increase in the user's heart rate above a predetermined threshold of the user's resting heart rate.

In some implementations, the backend server determines which activity metrics to calculate or analyze based on annotation data generated by the server or another server and stored in one or both of the servers, annotation data received from an external computing device, or annotation data also received from the portable monitoring device 100. Additionally, the server may also determine which activity metrics to calculate or analyze based on the analysis of the tracked activity data. In some such implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 may not track, determine, calculate, or analyze any activity metrics at all; rather, the portable monitoring device may monitor the sensed activity data and then store or transmit the activity data for later analysis and processing by an external computing device or back end server.

As described above, one or more output mechanisms (visual, audible, or motion/vibration) may be used alone or in any combination with each other or with another communication method, communicating any of a plurality of informational notifications: the user needs to be woken up at a certain time (e.g., alarm clock); the user should be awakened when he is in a certain sleep phase (e.g. a smart alarm clock); the user should fall asleep at a certain time; the user should be woken up when they are in a certain sleep phase or stage and in a preselected or user-previously defined time window bounded by the earliest and latest times the user wants to be woken up; receiving an email, text or other communication message; the user has been inactive for a certain period of time (this notification function may be integrated with other applications (e.g., a meeting calendar or a sleep tracking application) to block, reduce, or adjust the behavior of inactive reminders); the user has been active for a certain period of time; the user has an appointment or calendar event (e.g., a reminder); or that the user has reached a certain activity metric or combination of activity metrics. As also described above, one or more output mechanisms (visual, auditory, or motion/vibration) may be used alone or in any combination with each other or with another method of communication, communicating that the user has met or achieved or advanced toward one or more of the following goals: travel a certain distance; achieving a certain mile (or other circle) pace; achieving a certain speed; achieving a certain elevation gain; achieving a certain number of steps; achieving a certain maximum or average heart rate; a certain number of swimming motions or returns are accomplished in the pool.

These examples are provided for illustration, and are not intended to limit the scope of information that may be conveyed by a device (e.g., to a user). As described above, the data to determine whether a goal is achieved or whether a condition for alerting has been met may be obtained from the portable monitoring device 100 or another device. The portable monitoring device 100 itself may determine whether criteria for a reminder, goal, or notification have been met. Alternatively, a computing device in communication with a device (e.g., a server and/or a mobile phone) may determine when an alert should occur. Other information that the device may convey to the user in view of the present disclosure may be envisioned by those skilled in the art. For example, the device may communicate with the user when the target has been met. The criteria for meeting this goal may be based on physiological, contextual and environmental sensors on the first device and/or other sensor data from one or more secondary devices. The target may be set by a user or may be set by the device itself and/or another computing device in communication with the device, such as a server.

In one example implementation, upon detecting or determining that the user has reached the biometric or activity target, the portable monitoring device 100 may vibrate to notify the user. For example, the portable monitoring device 100 may detect (or be notified) that the wearer has exceeded a predefined target or achieved a threshold (e.g., walk 10,000 steps a day), and may vibrate to remind or congratulate the user in response to this event. In some such implementations, if the user then presses a button, the display may turn on and present data about the goal reached by the user (e.g., what goal was reached, whether or not the goal was reached one or more times a further day, week, month, or year previously, or how long it took to reach the goal). In another example, the color and/or intensity of one or more LEDs may serve as a notification that a user won or lost in a competition (e.g., number of steps) with a friend. In yet another example, the biometric monitoring device may be a wrist-mounted device that may vibrate or emit audio feedback to notify the user about incoming emails, text messages, or other alerts. In some such implementations, if the user then moves his or her wrist in a gesture similar to that of checking a watch, the display of the biometric monitoring device may be turned on and data related to the data display page related to the reminder may be presented to the user. In yet another example, the biometric monitoring device may present a progressively more obvious feedback method based on the importance or urgency of the reminder. For example, a high priority alert may include audio, vibration, and/or visual feedback, while a low priority alert may include only visual feedback. The criteria used to distinguish a high priority alert from a lower priority alert may be defined by the user. For example, a high priority alert may be triggered if an email message or text is sent with a particular priority (e.g., "urgent"), if an email message or text is sent from a particular person (e.g., a person the user has identified as a high priority), if a meeting notification or reminder is received or appears, if a certain goal is met, or if a dangerous health condition such as a high heart rate is detected.

As described above, in some other implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 may operate within or according to multiple modes. For example, the various modes may include: a general or default activity tracking mode, such as the annotation mode described above, a timer mode, a stopwatch mode, a clock/time/watch mode, a sleep monitoring (or "sleep tracking") mode, an operational mode, a home mode, a commute mode, and one or more activity-specific activity tracking modes for tracking user activities such as cycling, swimming, walking, running, stair climbing, rock climbing, weight lifting, treadmill exercise, and elliptical machine exercise. In some multi-modal implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 also enables a user to annotate activity data monitored in one or more modes including one or more activity-specific activity tracking modes, as described above.

The processing unit 104 may automatically determine or select a mode in which the device is to operate based on a plurality of signals, data, or other information. For example, the processing unit may automatically select the mode based on one or more activity metrics (e.g., number of steps, stairs or floors counts, or amount of calories burned) or additionally or alternatively based on one or more of: contextual or environmental data (e.g., time of day, GPS or other determined or entered location or positioning data, ambient light level, temperature, or humidity); physiological or other human-centric data (e.g., heart rate, body temperature, hydration level, or blood oxygen level); or system condition data (e.g., in response to low battery or low memory); or based on one or more user-defined conditions being met.

In some implementations, the portable monitoring device itself may determine which activity data to monitor or additionally or alternatively which activity (or sleep) metrics to determine, calculate, or analyze based on which activity tracking or other modes are currently active or initiated (hereinafter "sleep metrics" may also be generally referred to as "activity metrics"). Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, one or both of the external computing device or the back-end server may request certain activity data from the portable monitoring device based on which activity tracking modes are currently active or initiated. Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, one or both of the external computing device or the backend server may receive all activity data monitored by the portable monitoring device, and then filter or otherwise selectively process certain activity data based on which activity tracking modes are currently active or initiated, thereby determining, calculating, or analyzing certain activity metrics.

In some multi-mode implementations, the user may select which modes are currently active or initiated via the user interface 108 or via applications or programs (including web applications, mobile applications, or client-side software programs) executing on an external computing device (e.g., a personal computer, smartphone, or multimedia device) communicatively coupled with the portable monitoring device 100 via the I/O interface 110 and one or more wired or wireless connections or networks. For example, the user may select the mode of the portable monitoring device 100 using an application on a smartphone that sends a mode selection to the server. The server, in turn, sends the mode selection to the external computing device, which then sends the mode selection to the portable monitoring device 100 via the I/O interface 110. Or the smartphone application (or server) may send the mode selection directly to the portable monitoring device 100.

In some implementations, the user may also select which activity metrics to track when in each of the corresponding activity tracking modes. As described above, in some implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 may also be configured to automatically switch between two or more activity tracking or other modes. In some such implementations, the processing unit 104 may analyze the activity data from the sensors 102 and automatically determine the most appropriate, or optimal activity tracking or other mode to switch to based on a substantially real-time dynamic analysis of the activity data. In some other such implementations, the processing unit 104 may transmit the activity data via the I/O interface 110 over a wired or wireless connection to one or both of an external computing device or a backend server that then analyzes the activity data, determine the most appropriate, or optimal activity tracking or other mode to switch to, and then transmit one or more instructions to the portable monitoring device 100 that, when executed by the processing unit 104, cause the processing unit 104 (in conjunction with one or more other components described above) to switch to the determined mode.

In some implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 includes an alarm clock function intended to cause a wearer or user to wake up from sleep or otherwise alert the user. In some such embodiments, the portable monitoring device 100 acts as a wrist-mounted vibrating alarm clock to silently wake the user from sleep. The portable monitoring device may also be configured to track a user's sleep quality, wake periods, sleep latency, sleep efficiency, sleep stages (e.g., deep sleep versus REM), or other sleep-related metrics via one or a combination of heart rate, heart rate variability, galvanic skin response, motion sensing (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers), and skin temperature. In some implementations, the user can specify a desired alarm time or time window (e.g., set the alarm clock to alarm between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.). In some such embodiments, the processing unit 104 uses one or more of the sleep metrics to determine an optimal time to wake up the user within the alarm window. In some implementations, while the vibrating alarm clock is active, the user can cause it to sleep, snooze, or turn off by slapping or tapping the device (which is detected, for example, via a motion sensor, pressure/force sensor, and/or capacitive touch sensor in the device). In one particular implementation, the portable monitoring device 100 can be configured to attempt to wake up the user at an optimal point in the sleep cycle by starting a small vibration at a particular user sleep stage or time prior to the alarm clock setting. The portable monitoring device 100 can gradually increase the intensity or the noticeability of the vibration as the user progresses towards waking or towards the alarm clock setting. Similar to the way conventional alarm clocks function, a wearer or user may be able to set one or more daily, periodic, or other repeating alarm clocks. In addition, the alarm clock function may be configured to "snooze," i.e., to temporarily stop the alarm clock for a short period of time (typically several minutes) and then trigger the alarm clock again.

As a result of the small size of many portable monitoring devices, many such monitoring devices have limited space to accommodate various user interface components. For example, fitsit manufactures a variety of extremely compact portable monitoring devices, including biometric tracking units each incorporating a set of sensors, batteries, displays, charging interfaces, and one or more wireless communication interfaces. In some such examples, the portable monitoring device also incorporates a vibration motor and/or buttons. These components may, for example, be housed within a housing measuring approximately 2 "long, 0.75" wide and 0.5 "thick (Fitbit Ultra)^TM) (ii) a About 1.9 "long, 0.75" wide and 0.375 "thick (Fitbit One)^TM) (ii) a About 1.4 "long, 1.1" wide and 0.375 "thick (Fitbit Zip)^TM) (ii) a And about 1.3 "long, 0.5" wide and 0.25 "thick (Fitbit Flex)^TM). Of course, other sized housings may be used in other implementations of the biometric monitoring device; the above list is intended only to illustrate the small size of many such biometric monitoring devices.

Regardless of the small size of the above-listed Fitbit devices, each of which includes some sort of display (e.g., Fitbit Ultra, Fitbit One, and Fitbit Zip), the displays include small pixilated display screens capable of outputting text, numbers, and graphics. The Fitbit Flex uses discrete Light Emitting Diode (LED) indicators (e.g., 5 LEDs arranged in a row) to visually convey information due to its small size. Each of the above listed Fitbit devices also has an input mechanism that allows a user to affect some aspect of the operation of the device. For example, Fitbit Ultra and Fitbit One each include discrete buttons that allow a user to influence the manner in which the device operates. In contrast, Fitbit Zip and Fitbit Flex do not have discrete buttons, but instead are each configured to detect when a user taps the housing of the device using their biometric sensor; such events are interpreted by one or more processors of such devices as signaling user input, i.e., acting as an input mechanism.

One component of the portable monitoring device 100 that may be limited in size or performance is a power source 114, such as a rechargeable, removable, or replaceable battery, capacitor, or the like. In some implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 can be configured to remain in an "always on" state, allowing it to constantly collect activity data throughout the day and night. Where the sensors 102 and processing unit 104 of a given portable monitoring device must typically remain powered to some degree in order to collect activity data, it is advantageous to implement a power saving feature elsewhere in the device, such as by causing the display to automatically turn off after a period of time. Fitbit Ultra^TMBeing an example of a portable monitoring device that includes a data display, the data display is typically turned off to conserve power unless the device interacts with a user. Typical user interaction may be provided by, for example, pressing a button on the device.

In some implementations, the housing of the portable monitoring device 100 itself is designed or configured such that it can be inserted into and removed from a plurality of compatible shells, housings, or cradles (hereinafter "shell", "housing", and "cradle" are used interchangeably). For example, in some implementations, the portable monitoring device 100 is configured for removable insertion into a wrist band or armband that is wearable on a person's wrist, forearm, or upper arm. In some implementations, the portable monitoring device is additionally or alternatively configured for removable insertion into a belt clip housing, or configured for coupling with a clip that is attachable to a person's belt or clothing. As used herein, the term "wristband" may refer to a band designed to completely or partially encircle a person's forearm near the wrist joint. The tape may be continuous, e.g., without any "breaks"; that is, it can be stretched to be worn on a human hand or have an extension similar to a watchband of a garment. Alternatively, the strap may be discontinuous, e.g., having a snap or other connection that enables a user to close the strap similar to a watchband. In still other embodiments, the band may simply "open," e.g., having a C-shape that clasps the wearer's wrist. Hereinafter, a portable monitoring device inserted into, combined with, or otherwise coupled with a separate removable housing or some other structure such that it can be worn by a person or easily carried by or attached to a person or their clothing may be referred to as a "portable monitoring system".

As noted above, various implementations of the portable monitoring devices described herein may have shapes and sizes suitable for coupling to (e.g., securing to, wearing, burdening, etc.) a user's body or clothing. Various examples of such portable monitoring devices are shown in fig. 2, 3 and 4. Fig. 2 depicts a monitoring device shaped like Fitbit One that can be inserted into a holder with a belt clip or into a pocket on a wrist strap. The portable monitoring device 200 has a housing 202 containing electronics associated with the biometric monitoring device 200. The buttons 204 and display 206 are accessible/visible via the housing 202. Fig. 3 depicts a portable monitoring device (much like a Fitbit Flex) that can be worn on a person's forearm like a watch. The portable monitoring device 300 has a housing 302 containing electronics associated with the biometric monitoring device 300. The buttons 304 and display 306 are accessible/visible through the housing 302. Wristband 308 may be integrated with housing 302. FIG. 4 depicts another example of a portable monitoring device that may be worn on a person's forearm like a watch, but with a larger display than the portable monitoring device of FIG. 3. The portable monitoring device 400 has a housing 402 containing electronics associated with the portable monitoring device 400. The buttons 404 and display 406 are accessible/visible via the housing 402. Wristband 408 may be integrated with housing 402.

Other embodiments and implementations of a Portable Biometric Monitoring device can be found in U.S. patent application No. 13/156,304 entitled Portable Biometric Monitoring Devices and Methods of Operating the Same, filed on 8/6/2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Unless the context of the present invention (where the term "context" is used in accordance with its typical general definition) clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the word "comprise" and its similar referents in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is, in the sense of "including (but not limited to)". Words using the singular or plural number also typically include the plural or singular number, respectively. Additionally, the words "herein," "below," "above," "below," and words of similar import refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. When the word "or" is used in reference to a list of two or more items, the word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list. The term "implementation" refers to implementations of the techniques and methods described herein, as well as physical objects embodying and/or incorporating the techniques and/or methods described herein.

Many concepts and embodiments are described and illustrated herein. While certain features, attributes and advantages of the implementations discussed herein have been described and illustrated, many other, as well as different and/or similar implementations, features, attributes and advantages, will be apparent from the description and illustrations. Accordingly, the foregoing implementations are merely exemplary and are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms, techniques, materials and/or configurations disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. Other implementations may be utilized and operational changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is not limited solely to the foregoing description, as the description of the above implementations has been presented for purposes of illustration and description.

It is important that the present invention is not limited to any single aspect or implementation, nor to any single combination and/or permutation of such aspects and/or implementations. Further, each of the aspects of the present disclosure and/or implementations thereof may be used alone or in combination with one or more of the other aspects and/or implementations thereof. Many of those permutations and combinations will not be discussed and/or illustrated herein separately for the sake of brevity.

Some examples of some example combinations of features include (as examples and not limited to):

combination 1.

An apparatus, comprising:

one or more motion sensors for sensing motion of the device and providing activity data indicative of the sensed motion;

one or more feedback devices for providing an indication to a user based on the activity data, the one or more feedback devices including one or more vibration devices for providing a vibration indication to the user;

a memory for storing one or more activity goals;

one or more processors configured to:

monitoring the activity data;

determining one or more activity metrics based on the activity data;

accessing one or more of the stored activity targets;

setting, selecting, or modifying one or more vibration patterns or other vibration characteristics of the vibration indication associated with respective ones of the stored activity targets based on user input; and

causing one or more of the vibration devices to generate a vibration indication that is set, selected, or modified based on the user input based on one or more of the activity metrics, indicating to the user that a particular one of the activity goals has been achieved by the user without requiring the user to view the device to determine which goal has been achieved; and

a portable housing enclosing at least portions of the motion sensor, the processor, and the feedback device.

Combination 2.

The apparatus of combination 1, wherein the vibration indication is generated without displaying a corresponding indication unless additional user input is received from the user after the vibration indication begins.

Combination 3.

The apparatus of combination 1 or 2, wherein:

the memory stores one or more activity targets for each of a plurality of activity tracking modes; and

the one or more processors are further configured to select between the plurality of activity tracking modes based on a current activity of the user of the device engaged.

And (4) combining.

The apparatus of combination 3, wherein:

the memory stores one or more default activity targets for each of the activity tracking modes.

And (5) combining.

The device of combination 3 or 4, wherein the device is configured to enable a user to set, select, or modify one or more user customizable activity goals based on user input.

And (6) combining.

The device of any of combinations 3-5, wherein one or more of the activity metrics are determined based on a currently selected activity tracking mode.

And (7) combining.

The device of any of combinations 3-6, wherein the one or more processors are configured to automatically exit a currently selected activity tracking mode based on achievement of an associated activity goal.

And (4) combining 8.

The device of any of the above combinations, wherein one or more of the activity goals includes one or more characteristics including time of activity, duration of activity, distance of activity, number of steps, elevation change, pace, maximum speed, and estimated amount of calories used.

And (4) combining 9.

The device of any of the above combinations, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to store the activity data or data derived from the activity data in the memory.

The combination 10.

The device of any of the above combinations, wherein the one or more processors are configured to store one or more achieved goals in the memory.

And (6) combining 11.

The device of any of the above combinations, wherein the device further comprises transmit and receive circuitry for transmitting the target achievement data to a remote computing system that can track and store the achieved target.

And (4) combining 12.

The device of any of the above combinations, wherein the one or more processors are configured to restart or reinitialize one or more of the goals after the goal is achieved.

And (3) combining 13.

The device of any of the above combinations, wherein the one or more processors are configured to periodically restart or reinitialize one or more of the targets.

And (4) combining 14.

The apparatus of combination 13, wherein the periodic period is daily.

And (4) combining 15.

The device of any of the above combinations, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause one or more of the feedback devices to provide an indication of a prompt, an appointment, a receipt of a message, a device condition, or a health condition to the user.

And (6) combining 16.

The device of any of the above combinations, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause one or more of the feedback devices to provide an indication of an alarm to the user.

And (6) combining 17.

The device of combination 16, wherein the device is configured to enable a user to set or select a vibration pattern or other vibration characteristic of the alarm clock based on user input.

And (6) combining 18.

The device of combination 16 or 17, wherein the one or more processors are configured to automatically exit an annotated sleep tracking state or sleep tracking mode based on the alarm clock.

And (6) combining 19.

The device of combination 18, wherein the one or more processors are configured to automatically exit the annotated sleep tracking state or sleep tracking mode in response to turning off the alarm clock.

And (4) combining 20.

Combining the apparatus of any one of 16 to 19, wherein:

the device is configured to enable a user to set or select a time window during which the processor causes one or more of the feedback devices to provide an indication of the alarm; and

the one or more processors are configured to determine an appropriate or optimal time within the time window to cause the feedback device to indicate the alarm based on one or more sleep metrics or based on a sleep stage as determined based on one or more sleep metrics.

And (3) combining 21.

The device of any of the above combinations, wherein the one or more feedback devices include one or more of: one or more display devices, one or more lamps, and one or more sound producing devices.

And a combination 22.

The device of any of the above combinations, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause one or more of the feedback devices to provide an indication to the user of one or more default or user-defined progress points reached en route to one or more activity goals based on one or more of the activity metrics.

And (3) combining 23.

The apparatus of any of the above combinations, wherein:

the device further includes one or more user input devices included in or on the housing for receiving or sensing user input; and

the one or more processors are further configured to receive and interpret user input received or sensed via one or more of the user input devices.

And (6) combining 24.

The apparatus of any of the above combinations, wherein:

the device further includes transmit and receive circuitry; and

the one or more processors are further configured to receive and interpret user input received from the receive circuitry.

And (4) combining 25.

The apparatus of combination 24, wherein:

the transmit and receive circuitry configured for wireless communication over a computer network; and

the user input is entered via a network or a mobile application.

And (6) combining 26.

The device of any of the above combinations, wherein the housing comprises a wrist or arm band, the housing configured for physical attachment to or coupling with the wrist or arm band, or configured to be inserted into the wrist or arm band.

Claims

1. A portable monitoring device, comprising:

one or more motion sensors for sensing motion of the portable monitoring device and providing motion data indicative of the sensed motion;

one or more vibration devices configured to generate a plurality of vibration indications, each of the vibration indications associated with achieving one of a plurality of activity goals;

a wireless communication interface configured to communicate with one or more external computing devices;

a memory configured to store one or more vibration patterns, each of the one or more vibration patterns capable of being assigned to one or more of the plurality of activity goals;

one or more processors configured to:

receiving one or more first inputs from the one or more external computing devices via the wireless communication interface to define or modify a plurality of vibration patterns associated with the plurality of activity goals, stored or to be stored in the memory;

after receiving the one or more first inputs, receiving, from the one or more external computing devices via the wireless communication interface, an indication of a determination to: a condition associated with at least one activity goal has been satisfied; and

in response to a determination that the condition has been met, causing the one or more vibration devices to generate a vibration indication in accordance with one of the vibration patterns associated with the at least one activity goal; and

a portable housing enclosing at least portions of the one or more motion sensors, the one or more vibration devices, the wireless communication interface, the memory, and the one or more processors, the portable housing wearable by a user of the portable monitoring device.

2. The portable monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

receiving one or more second inputs via the wireless communication interface to assign the plurality of vibration patterns to the plurality of activity targets;

assigning each of the plurality of vibration patterns to a unique activity goal; and

storing the allocation in the memory.

3. The portable monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

receiving, from the one or more external computing devices via the wireless communication interface, a communication of information regarding the at least one activity goal;

processing the communication of the information; and

determining that a condition associated with the at least one activity goal has been met based on the processed communication of the information.

4. The portable monitoring device of claim 3, wherein the one or more external computing devices comprise a mobile phone or a smart phone.

5. The portable monitoring device of claim 3, wherein:

the portable monitoring device further includes a display, and

the one or more processors are further configured to: user input is received while a user is wearing the portable monitoring device, and in response to the user input, the display is caused to display information in a communication of the information.

6. The portable monitoring device of claim 5, wherein:

the user input is a body gesture made by a user and sensed by the one or more motion sensors; and is

The one or more processors are further configured to interpret the body gesture based on motion data corresponding to the body gesture.

7. The portable monitoring device of claim 3, wherein the communication of information further comprises a priority associated with information in the communication of information, and wherein the generated vibration indication is further based on the priority.

8. The portable monitoring device of claim 1, wherein:

the memory is further configured to store the plurality of activity targets; and is

The one or more processors are further configured to:

monitoring the motion data;

determining one or more activity metrics based on the monitored motion data; and

determining that a condition associated with the at least one activity goal has been met based on the determined one or more activity metrics.

9. The portable monitoring device of claim 8, wherein:

the portable monitoring device further includes a display, and

the one or more processors are further configured to: user input is received while a user is wearing the portable monitoring device, and in response to the user input, the display is caused to display information about an achieved one of the plurality of activity goals.

10. The portable monitoring device of claim 9, wherein:

11. The portable monitoring device of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive user input and author or customize activity goals stored in the memory based on the user input.

12. The portable monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the one or more external computing devices comprise a mobile phone or a smart phone.

13. The portable monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the one or more external computing devices comprise a personal computer.

14. The portable monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the one or more external computing devices comprise a server.

15. The portable monitoring device of claim 1, further comprising one or more lights configured to generate visual notifications, each of the visual notifications associated with achieving one of a plurality of activity goals, wherein:

the memory is further configured to store visual notification settings, each of the visual notification settings capable of being assigned to one or more of the plurality of activity targets, each of the visual notification settings specifying a corresponding visual mode; and is

The one or more processors are further configured to:

receiving one or more third inputs from the one or more external computing devices via the wireless communication interface to define, modify, or select a plurality of visual notification settings stored or to be stored in the memory;

receiving one or more fourth inputs via the wireless communication interface to assign the plurality of visual notification settings to the plurality of activity goals;

assigning each of the plurality of visual notification settings to a unique activity goal; and

storing the allocation in the memory.

16. The portable monitoring device of claim 1, further comprising one or more speakers configured to generate audible notifications, each of the audible notifications associated with achieving one of a plurality of activity goals, wherein:

the memory is further configured to store audible notification settings, each of the audible notification settings capable of being assigned to one or more of the plurality of activity goals, each of the audible notification settings specifying a corresponding audible mode; and is

The one or more processors are further configured to:

receiving one or more third inputs via the wireless communication interface to define, modify or select a plurality of audible notification settings stored or to be stored in the memory;

receiving one or more fourth inputs via the wireless communication interface to assign the plurality of audible notification settings to the plurality of activity goals;

assigning each of the plurality of audible notification settings to a unique campaign goal; and

storing the allocation in the memory.

17. The portable monitoring device of claim 1, further comprising one or more displays configured to generate graphical image notifications, each of the graphical image notifications associated with achieving one of a plurality of activity goals, wherein:

the memory is further configured to store graphical image notification settings, each of the graphical image notification settings capable of being assigned to one or more of the plurality of activity targets, each of the graphical image notification settings specifying a corresponding graphical image mode; and is

The one or more processors are further configured to:

receiving one or more third inputs via the wireless communication interface to define, modify, or select a plurality of graphical image notification settings stored or to be stored in the memory;

receiving one or more fourth inputs via the wireless communication interface to assign the plurality of graphical image notification settings to the plurality of activity targets;

assigning each of the plurality of graphical image notification settings to a unique activity goal; and

storing the allocation in the memory.

18. The portable monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises or is attachable to a wrist strap or armband configured to be physically coupled to a user.

19. A tangible processor-readable medium comprising non-volatile instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, perform operations comprising:

sensing, by one or more motion sensors located in a portable device, motion of the portable device and providing motion data indicative of the sensed motion;

receiving, by one or more processors located in a portable device, one or more first inputs from one or more external computing devices via a wireless communication interface, the one or more first inputs for defining or modifying a plurality of vibration patterns stored or to be stored in a memory of the portable device, the plurality of vibration patterns capable of being assigned into a plurality of activity goals;

after receiving the one or more first inputs, receiving, by the one or more processors from the one or more external computing devices via the wireless communication interface, an indication of a determination to: a condition associated with at least one activity goal has been satisfied; and

in response to a determination that the condition has been met, causing, by the one or more processors, one or more vibration devices to generate a vibration indication in accordance with one of the vibration patterns associated with the at least one activity goal.

20. The medium of claim 19, further comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, perform operations comprising:

receiving one or more second inputs via the wireless communication interface to assign the stored or modified plurality of vibration patterns to the plurality of activity targets;

assigning each of the stored or modified plurality of vibration patterns to a unique activity goal; and

storing the allocation in the memory.

21. The medium of claim 19, further comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, perform operations comprising:

processing the communication of the information; and

22. The medium of claim 21, wherein the one or more external computing devices comprise a mobile phone or a smartphone.

23. The medium of claim 19, further comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, perform operations comprising:

monitoring the motion data;

24. The medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more external computing devices comprise a mobile phone or a smartphone.