EP4356772A1

EP4356772A1 - Potentiometer and insole

Info

Publication number: EP4356772A1
Application number: EP22748054.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Carlos Galán Ramón
Original assignee: Bike Technological Developments SL
Current assignee: Bike Technological Developments SL
Priority date: 2021-06-16
Filing date: 2022-06-15
Publication date: 2024-04-24
Also published as: ES1274239Y; ES1274239U; WO2022263698A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a potentiometer intended to be placed in an insole capable of accurately measuring the power generated by an athlete regardless of their footwear and comprising a piezoresistive or piezoelectric force and/or pressure sensor, configured to measure the force applied thereto; a processing unit comprising an analogue-to-digital converter, configured to convert the voltage measurements into power values; a connectivity unit, configured to send the power measurements obtained; and a power supply.

Description

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The invention belongs to the technical field of measuring instruments, and in particular, relates to a potentiometer intended to be integrated into an insole for footwear to estimate the power of an athlete through the insoles of their footwear.
Specifically, the potentiometer of the invention is applicable in any sport in which a power measurement is required, in particular cycling, to measure the power generated by an athlete regardless of their footwear and equipment.
The invention also relates to an insole for measuring power comprising said potentiometer integrated.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Currently, measurement elements are widely used in sports activities that allow categorising, evaluating and optimising the training and performance of a user during the performance of a physical activity.
In the case of aerobic and anaerobic sports measurements, one of the main objectives in the measurement is to evaluate the power that is generated during performance.
Traditionally, heart rate measurements have been used to monitor user performance and optimise the training load. In most cases however, the measurement obtained via the heart rate does not allow categorising performance in a sporting activity in a thorough manner.
Therefore, a measurement system is required to obtain more accurate and reliable measurements of the athlete's performance.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a potentiometer and an insole with said potentiometer integrated that allow monitoring of the user's performance during the practice of a physical activity in an effective manner. The potentiometer of the invention is intended to be placed in footwear, in particular in an insole in order to measure the power that is generated.
Physical activity can relate to any sport where a power measurement is required. In particular, in the sport of cycling, the potentiometer of the invention allows measuring the power generated.
This solution allows measuring the power that is generated by an athlete in an accurate and repeatable manner regardless of the footwear used, and in the particular case of a cyclist, regardless of the bicycle used. To do this, it uses force and/or pressure sensors.
The potentiometer of the invention comprises:

a force and/or pressure sensor, preferably piezoresistive or piezoelectric, configured to measure the force applied thereto;
a processing unit, which may comprise an analogue-to-digital converter, configured to convert the voltage measurements into power values;
a connectivity unit, configured to send the power measurements obtained; and
a power source, preferably a battery.

Preferably, the potentiometer of the invention may further comprise two or more secondary force and/or pressure sensors, preferably piezoresistive or piezoelectric, configured to measure the force applied thereto together with the force and/or pressure sensor, being distributed over the support surface to generate a set of voltage measurements at different points on said support surface.
Preferably, the connectivity unit may comprise WiFi connectivity, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and/or an integrated antenna. More preferably, the connectivity unit may be connected to an external mobile device.
Moreover, the processing unit and the connectivity unit can be integrated into a system-on-chip (SOC) carrier.
The invention also relates to an insole for footwear comprising a textile support and the potentiometer described.
In some cases, the force and/or pressure sensor and, if present, the secondary sensors are located in the front area of the textile support of the insole, i.e., in the area closest to the toes of the user, in order to optimise the capture of power data obtained.
The potentiometer is used to monitor the effort made during training or use of the bicycle in order to optimise the use and sports performance thereof much more accurately, in a stricter way, that enables the athlete to reach their goals in better physical shape and with an optimal training load.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

As a complement to the description provided herein, and for the purpose of helping to make the features of the invention more readily understandable, in accordance with a preferred exemplary embodiment thereof, said description is accompanied by a set of figures constituting an integral part of the same, which by way of illustration and not limitation, represent the following:

Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of the insole comprising the potentiometer of the invention.
Figure 2 shows a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of the insole comprising the potentiometer of the invention during the use thereof in cycling.
Figure 3 shows a schematic plan view of a preferred embodiment of the insole of the invention together with the foot of the user.
Figure 4 shows a schematic elevation view of a preferred embodiment of the insole of the invention together with the foot of the user.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates, in a preferred embodiment, to a potentiometer (1) capable of accurately measuring the power generated by a cyclist regardless of their footwear and bicycle.
Figure 1 shows said preferred embodiment of the potentiometer (1) of the invention housed in a textile support by way of an insole.
In this particular embodiment, the potentiometer (1) is mainly made up of four elements:

a force sensor (2), comprising electronic elements for converting voltage measurement to power measurement,
a connectivity unit (4), in this case a Bluetooth type,
a microchip processing unit (3) with storage memory and a working memory (RAM), and
a battery (5).

The connectivity unit (4) connects the processing unit (3) with an application installed on a mobile device, with a user interface.
Thus, the signal obtained by means of the force sensor (2), is treated by means of the electronic conversion elements, such as an analogue-to-digital converter, in order to transform the measurement into a power measurement, making use of the processing unit (3). The data obtained is then sent via the connectivity unit (4).
In this case, the force sensor (2) is located in the front portion of the textile support (6) of the insole, in order to obtain data from the area of the foot closest to the toes of the user, which is where power is generated during pedalling.
As shown in figures 2 and 3, the insole is divided into a measurement area (A), on the front portion of the insole, a communication area (B) in the centre of the same and a battery area (C) in the heel area of the user.

Claims

A potentiometer (1) intended to be placed into an insole for footwear comprising:
- a force and/or pressure sensor (2), configured to measure the force applied thereto;

- a processing unit (3), configured to convert the voltage measurements into power values;

- a connectivity unit (4), configured to send the power measurements obtained; and

- a power supply (5).
The potentiometer (1) according to claim 1, further comprising one or more secondary force and/or pressure sensors (2) configured to measure the force applied thereto and connected to the processing unit (3).
The potentiometer (1) according to claim 1, wherein the power source (5) is a battery.
The potentiometer (1) according to claim 1, wherein the connectivity unit (4) comprises WiFi connectivity, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and/or an integrated antenna.
The potentiometer (1) according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit (3) and the connectivity unit (4) are integrated into a system on chip (SOC) carrier.
The potentiometer (1) according to claim 1, wherein the connectivity unit (4) is connected to an external mobile device.
The potentiometer (1) according to claim 1, wherein the force and/or pressure sensor(s) (2) is piezoresistive.
The potentiometer (1) according to claim 1, wherein the force and/or pressure sensor(s) (2) is piezoelectric.
The potentiometer (1) according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit (3) comprises an analogue-to-digital converter.
An insole for footwear comprising a textile support (6) and a potentiometer (1) according to claims 1 to 9.
The insole according to claim 10, wherein the force and/or pressure sensor (2) of the potentiometer (1) is located in the front area of the textile support (6).
The insole according to claim 11, wherein the secondary force and/or pressure sensors (2) of the potentiometer (1) are also located distributed in the front area of the textile support (6).