GB2362331A

GB2362331A - An interface unit for linking an exercise machine to a computer having a visual display device.

Info

Publication number: GB2362331A
Application number: GB0104806A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stuart Brenton Callis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-05-20
Filing date: 2001-02-27
Publication date: 2001-11-21
Anticipated expiration: 2021-02-27
Also published as: GB0012164D0; GB2362331B; GB0104806D0

Abstract

An interface unit for linking an exercise machine to a computer having a visual display device with a pointer thereon comprises a speed-responsive device for generating a signal proportional to the speed of use of the exercise machine, a user-controlled unit for generating directional control signals and means to transmit the speed and directional signals to a computer, the computer moving the pointer in response to the signals it receives. The user-controlled means may comprise a joystick, mouse or an analogous control device, and both the speed and directional signals may be fed to the mouse or equivalent input port on the computer. The speed-responsive device may comprise a recoiling cord attached to a mechanical device. The mechanical device may comprise means for converting a reciprocal drive from the exercise machine to a unidirectional rotational movement or may comprise a dynamo or other equivalent electromagnetic generating means, the output of which may be phased by use of photodiodes. The user-controlled device may be carried by the user or be mounted on the exercise machine and both the speed and directional signals may be fed to the computer in a 'cableless' manner. Also disclosed is an exercise machine incorporating such an interface, which may be an attachment to, or an integral part of, the exercise machine. In use, the interface unit allows the user of the exercise machine to use a computer in a manner which relates the exercise to the display on the screen so as make the exercise more interesting.

Description

2362331 1 )L. - Title: Exercise Machine and Interface Unit Therefor

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an exercise machine and also to an interface unit for linking an exercise machine with a computer.

Backnound to the Invention Especially people who do not play competitive sport often purchase exercise machines to use as a way of keeping fit. Unfortunately, sustained exercise on an exercise machine on a regular basis requires a degree of self-discipline which many people are unable to maintain. Consequently, after few days or weeks of use, exercise machines may cease to have appeal and are discarded.

An aim of the present invention is to make machine exercise more interesting, keeping the mind of the user off the physical discomfort involved and helping to maintain the discipline of regular exercise on the machine indefinitely. The invention enables the user of an exercise machine simultaneously to use a computer in a manner which relates the exercise to the display on the computer screen.

The Inventio According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an interface unit for linking an exercise machine to a computer having a visual display device on which a pointer is moveable, comprising a speed response device for connecting to an exercise machine to generate a signal proportional to the speed of use of the exercise machine and a user controlled unit for generating directional control signals, and means for transmitting a speed 2 signal and the directional signals to a computer input circuit in use generating output signals determining the direction and speed of movement of the on-screen pointer.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an exercise machine equipped with means for linking the machine to a computer having a visual display device on which pointer is moveable, said means comprising a speed response device for generating a signal proportional to the speed of use of the exercise machine, a user controlled device also being provided to generate directional control signals together with means for transmitting the generated signals to a computer input circuit in use generating output signals defming the direction and speed of movement of the on-screen pointer.

The user control device may be a joy-stick or an analogous control device capable of controlling directional movement of the pointer on a computer screen. The directional signals from the device, together with the speed signal, are preferably fed to the mouse or equivalent input port of the computer.

The invention may be practised in various forms of embodiment.

In one form, an interface unit is employed which links a standard exercise machine, which may be any of many different kinds available, to a computer. In general a recoiling cord, as nylon, may be attached to a moving part of the machine, or possibly to the user, to drive a mechanical device which generates the speed signal. The user controlled unit may be attached to a fixed part of the machine or possibly may be hand-held by the user.

In a second form, the interface unit is designed to suit specific kind of exercise machine. In this case the speed signal generator may be adapted specifically to interact with a specific moving part of the machine.

In a third form, the invention is built into the exercise machine at the manufacturing stage, thus eliminating any requirement for mechanical movement interfacing. Only the user controlled unit and a cable linking the machine to the computer may be visible. However, 3 at this point it is necessary to mention that the user controlled unit, from which the speed signal and the directional signals are transmitted to the computer, could be designed to transmit these signals in a cableless manner, as by means of infra-red or ultrasonic transmitters and receivers.

Finally, in a fourth form of embodiment, a novel arrangement of exercise machine may be built specifically to make use of the invention. An example is a centre-pivoted platform on which the user stands and tilts the disc by shifting his or her weight as required, for generation of the directional signals, the speed signal being generated by the interaction of a speed signal generating device with a bar which the user lifts up and down.

Description of Embodiment

The invention is further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 is a block diagram of an overall arrangement of the system of the invention; Figure 2 shows one possible mechanical arrangement for the overall system;

Figure 3 shows one possible phase shifting circuit:- Figure 4 shows an alternative phase shifting circuit; Figure 5 shows a signal amplifying and pulse shaping circuit; Figure 6 shows a fly-wheel sensor arrangement; Figure 7 shows an initial voltage generation arrangement; Figure 8 shows a direction control unit; 4 Figure 9 shows an alternative direction control circuit; and Figure 10 shows a direction and speed control circuit.

Referring to Figure 1 there is shown a block diagram of a system of general applicability to all kinds of exercise machine. The diagram is essentially self-explanatory when viewed in conjunction with the following description and also making reference to Figure 2, which shows a universal mechanical system for signal generation.

First it is necessary to give a general description of the mouse circuit.

Various types of mouse are available, which basically fall into two categories; firstly the synchronous, ie PS2 or mouse port mouse and secondly the asynchronous, ie serial or USB mouse. Either may be employed in the present invention. The synchronous mouse requires clock pulses generated by the computer for timing purposes (typically 200hz); in such cases logic circuits referred to herein use the same clocking signal. The asynchronous mouse has an on-board clock generator (typically 30Khz) which could be utilised, or else a separate clock generator may be included.

Using a combined serial/PS2 mouse, which are now commonly available and can be plugged into whichever computer socket convenient by virtue of an additional adaptor, is preferable to manufacturing two different models to suit the requirements of different users. A consideration here is that the supply voltages are different; serial mice use plus 12v and minus 5v while PS2 mice use plus 5v. Though a.potential problem in the design of some of the circuitry later described, this can be overcome by regulating the plus 12v of the serial mouse to plus 5v to standardise conditions and then converting back to a negative signal as required by the serial mouse circuit.

The mouse circuit has four signal inputs, two for the x-axis and two for the y-axis. The x and y inputs are driven by two different sources so reference is made now to the x inputs only:- the signals are produced by a photo-diode on one side of a rotating slotted disc and two photo-transistors (usually in the same encapsulation) on the other. As the disc turns it causes the output voltages from the transistors to rise and fall, creating two separate signals with a different relative phase. The mouse electronics detects these signals and determines which direction the disc is rotating by reference to which of its inputs is changing state first. The speed of the disc corresponds to the frequency of the pulses. A truth table of the x inputs may appear as:- x-input 1 x-input 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Here x input 2 always changes state before x input 1 so the mouse pointer on the screen moves to the right. It is useful to note that if these same signals are subjected to the y inputs at the same time, the mouse pointer will travel diagonally.

For signal replication, in order to recreate the signal conditions previously described, it is possible either to start with two pulses and steer them onto the x and y inputs as required by the switches on the control device (it is important to ensure the phase difference between the two signals remains the same as later described with reference to one- way rotation), or a single pulse can be formed which is then split into two outputs and the relative phase of these outputs manipulated and guided back to the mouse inputs as required.

For phase changing, having split the original signal, one output will require a phase shift which should be greater in time than one cycle of the clocking signal. This can be achieved by introducing a time delay circuit as illustrated in Figure 3, which shows the 6 application of capacitors to produce a delayed pulse. The triangular symbols are "CMOS buffers". These give a HIGH output if the input is HIGH (more than one half the supply voltage) and visa versa the first buffer provides a replica of the input. The PS2 clock frequency is 200hz; thus a 5ms time delay is required. The RC circuit reaches 50% output in MRC, so using the value stated:- T = 0.5 x 0.015 x 0.7 = 5.25ms Another method of producing the required phase difference is with clock logic circuits. One simple and effective method is by using a shift register, as shown in Figure 4. The input signal is moved one place to the right for every clock cycle so the first output to change state is Q2 and the last is QO. By connecting Q I directly to one of the x inputs on the mouse circuit and connecting the other x input via the direction control to either Q2 or QO outputs, the relative signal phase at x can be changed at will by the control switches.

It is to be noted that, throughout this description, the signals generated by the phototransistors are referred to as pulses, though in fact they are simply small changes in voltage (typically Iv p-p), which have quite slow transition times. Before these signals are applied to logic circuit, etc, they must be amplified and cleaned up by a Schmitt trigger or similar circuit, as shown in Figure 5.

The frequency of the pulses fed to the mouse circuit can in theory be anything up to clocking speed of the mouse input (ie 200liz for a PS2 mouse) but in practice they tend to be of the order of 0 - 100liz.

Referring back to Figure 1, the exercise interface is where the movement of the exercise machine is initially harnessed.

In the universal mechanical arrangement of Figure 2, the interface consists simply of a recoiling spool with a cog attached and a nylon cord wound around it with a clip on the end. The clip can be attached to any convenient moving part of the machine or the user, generally the point of greatest movement. For example, if the device is being used in 7 conjunction with a walking machine, then the back of a training shoe or ankle strap would be ideal.

Another possible method of achieving the same objective would be to use an infra-red or ultrasonic transmitter/receiver utilising the Doppler effect to detect speed of movement without physical connection.

However, when designing the device for a specific purpose then different approaches could be adopted, such as a friction wheel directly driven from a fly-wheel or, if designing a device to interact with machines that have a large fan as a braking device, then the air movement generated could be used to turn a propeller, closely positioned to the control device of the present invention. An example of the use of a fly-wheel is shown in Figure 6. Thus, for a unit designed for a cycling machine with a fly-wheel, then the initial pulse generating device could be provided inside a wheel which is sprung against the side of the fly-wheel. The motion of the fly-wheel is then transferred to the sensor and gives a naturally linear signal output removing the need for any stabilisation and, by allowing the position of the sensor to be adjustable, the user has complete overall speed control.

When two pulses are initially generated it is important to keep their relative phase the same. It would not be possible, for example, with the arrangement shown in Figure 2, to drive the pulse generators directly from the sprung spool as the mouse pointer would simply keep going up and down in sympathy with the initial to and fro motion of the cord. Ensuring that this back and forth action results in a one-way rotation overcomes this. The generation of a single pulse would not present this problem. However, a single direction rotation is a good preface to stabilisation, as later described.

In the arrangement of Figure 2, it is two cogs marked A & B which are important. A spindle physically connected to the smaller cog passes through a hole in the larger cog. Inside the whole are bearings which the shaft in one direction only. When arranged as shown in the diagram, cog D always rotates in the same sense.

8 As already mentioned, single direction rotation is useful if only to proceed stabilisation. However, it may also be beneficial if integrating the device into machines which do not naturally produce any circular motion, eg, a skiing machine. The last described step is not necessary when integrating the invention into machines which do already produce some form of single direction rotation, eg, cycling machines.

With respect to stabilisation, if the signal generators were mounted directly onto the single direction rotation mechanism, any jerky exercise movement would be reciprocated by the mouse pointer on the screen, making control difficult. This is particularly noticeable with exercises such as step-aerobics, but even with cycling exercise movement is far from smooth. To overcome this effect some form of hysteresis needs to be introduced.

Referring again to Figure 2, this is achieved by driving a fly-wheel from the single direction rotation mechanism to increase momentum. The double cog C as shown in the diagram is of the same type as A and B and prevents the previous cogs having a braking effect on the fly-wheel. However, other methods are possible. Thus, instead of a flywheel as described above an air fan could be driven from the single rotation mechanism with another output fan mounted in close proximity, similar to the system for machines that already utilise a fan in connection with exercise interfacing.

Another method would be to use the exercise movement initially to generate a voltage instead of pulses, by means of a dynamo or similar electromagnetic generator (see Figure 7). The resulting DC voltage can be smoothed by an RC tank circuit which has the effect of averaging out the peaks and troughs of the input voltage, resulting in stabilisation. This voltage is then applied to the input of a voltage to frequency converter to convert it into a useful output signal. The output signal from the voltage/frequency converter is then fed into a series of bi-stable circuits to reduce the frequency to the range required by the mouse circuit.

9 Initial signal generation can either be by dynamo, as mentioned above, the output of which is proportional to the speed of the undertaken exercise, or it can be a series of pulses the frequency of which reflects this input speed.

In the arrangement of Figure 2, the pulses are generated by two phototransistors made as a single package. Light produced by a closely mounted photo-diode is interrupted by a rotating slotted disc, resulting in two signal outputs of relatively different phase.

However, other methods are possible. Thus, instead of interrupting the light as described above, bouncing light off reflective areas on a rotating surface, eg a fly-wheel, can be useful, especially for specific or integrated models of exercise machines. Overall speed adjustment can be made by physically moving the sensor to positions passed by more or less reflective areas.

Electro-magnetic induction could also be a source of pulses, again particularly for some specific or integrated exercise machines, with the signals being produced by permanent magnets passing coils.

Pulses can also be derived from a commutation switch, light dependant resistors, halleffect sensor or proximity sensor or even a laser transmitter/receiver.

Two forms of speed control are incorporated into the device, so-called "overall" and "local" speed control.

Overall speed control is used to make uniform the performance of the device across various forms of exercise or simply to cater for personal preference. Thus a single speed device may work well in conjunction with a cycling machine but be extremely slow when the user changes to sit-up exercises. How hard the user wishes to make the exercise are also factors which make some form of control desirable. There may therefore be provided the facility to adjust the mouse pointer speed via the computer software, although it probably easier for the user simply to adjust a switch or move a lever on the control unit.

is Local speed control is incorporated into the joy-stick to enable the user to restrict the speed of the pointer when approaching eg, an icon or the like, which he or she wishes to click without having to slow down the exercise movement to gain fine control.

In the arrangement of Figure 2 both types of speed control are allowed for by using three separate sensors and rotating discs with different numbers of slots, say fast, medium and slow. Overall speed control is made by a switch on the control device which selects whether the pulses are derived from the fast or medium discs. Local speed control is achieved by an additional double pole double throw micro switch, mounted beneath the joy-stick lever. Slow speed is selected until the lever is moved beyond the half limit stage in any direction; at this point the switch poles are changed for full speed operation. Depending on the characteristics of the mouse circuit, it may be necessary to derive the x and y mouse signal inputs from independent sources. For example an additional photo transistor set as described above may be added to each pulse generator.

Overall speed control can instead be achieved mechanically by applying different gear ratios. A simple way of doing this in the arrangement of Figure 2 is to make the recoiling spool cone shaped and have the nylon cord directed onto whichever diameter is required by a moveable eye.

As already mentioned, the side of the fly-wheel, whether on an exercising machine or inside the device of the present invention, can provide opportunities for overall speed control. This can be achieved either by rotating a sensor wheel co-operating with the flywheel, which can be adjusted along the radius of the fly-wheel, or by placing various numbers of sensor activators, eg, reflective strips or magnets, at different radii, over which the user can position the sensor. Moreover, the frequency of the produced pulses can be halved by switching through a bistable circuit.

In cases where a voltage is initially produced, ie, by a dynamo, a potentiometer control can be used to reduce the input to the v/f converter as required.

Other methods for local speed control are interactive with direction control and are mentioned hereinafter.

With respect to direction switching, some forin of user movement is required to select a required direction. A joy-stick type operation is a natural selection for this, although the control device need not necessarily resemble a traditional joy-stick. For example a mouse pad type control (similar to the touch pad often found on lap-top computers) could be redesigned to associate the position of the user's finger in relation to the centre of the pad to determine speed and direction. Because two pulses have been generated, SPDT switches are preferably used. For the same configuration, electronic versions of SPDT could be used requiring only SPST switches for the actual control, but in the arrangement of Figure 2, four standard micro-switches are used. The switch activators are sprung metal strips which perform two functions; firstly they spring the control back to the central position and secondly, having activated the direction control, the joy-stick can continue further to operate local speed control. Figure 8 is a circuit diagram showing one possible arrangement, wherein the x switches are shown with the joy-stick at null position. The same inputs are connected to the y switches.

Again other methods are possible. Thus, where a single pulse is initially generated, any SPST switch, or sensor coupled with an electronic switch, can be used to manipulate the signals as required. For example, read switches or hall effect sensors may be used in the situation where the user moves a magnet over a flat pad to operate the device.

A more versatile control, with more direction and speed permutations is shown in Figure 9. Two seven pole - two way make before break rotary switches are used, one for each axis and operated by a lever joy-stick. Shown in this Figure is the x control only. The central contact of each pole is the null position and is not connected. The right hand contacts are connected to the input of a binary ripple counter and its first two outputs, 12 allowing the switch to choose between full, half and quarter signal frequencies. The selected frequency is fed into a shift register. The QO and Q2 outputs of the shift register are connected to the bottom and top three contacts, respectively, of the other pole for direction control.

Complete direction and local speed control can alternatively be obtained by the use of potentiometers in conjunction with the switches. For this purpose, as shown in Figure 10, a dynamo-type device may be used or a pulse signal is generated and converted into a voltage by using a frequency to voltage converter. In either case, this DC output is divided into two by buffers to create independent voltage inputs for the x and y paths. These voltages are adjusted by the use of control potentiometers and then converted back to useful output signals via the v/f converters ready for phase shifting and switching.

Some exercise activities, eg using gym-type arm weight machines, would be difficult or impossible to use with a hand operated control. In such cases foot, head or voice activated controls may be used. Alternatively, special software could be written whereby the user's movement alone is utilised and no directional control is necessary.

For foot operated control a centre pivoted footplate may be employed, designed to suit requirements, eg operation from a sitting position. The feet are used to push the control disc in the required direction.

For a head operated control the device may be incorporated into a headset containing tilt switches so that the user tilts his or her head in the direction required. This type of control could also be hand-held. A more sophisticated tilt device could be made by utilising a pendulum weight which operates two light blocking flags, one for each of the x and y axis. The flags are used in conjunction with photo-diode/transistor sensors to operate electronic switches. This arrangement may be used in place of the rotary switches described above and, by extending the pendulum arm above the pivot point, could also be used as a normal joy-stick.

13 Voice operated control software can be written allowing all direction and clicking functions to be actuated by the voice of the user of the exercise machine, the control device taking the form of a headset type microphone.

It should also be mentioned that all mice have two buttons, some have three. By far the rnost important is the left button, which must be easily accessible. The right button, although seldom used, is incorporated in the control device to allow full operation of some software. Increasingly popular at present is an additional scroll wheel fitted to mice, enabling the user quickly to scroll through internet pages. In the arrangement of Figure 2, the buttons are simply extensions of the switches present on the mouse circuit. The left mouse button is positioned on top of the joy-stick and can be operated in conjunction with directional control using a single thumb or finger. A switch on the side of the control device acts as the right hand button. Alternatives to normal switching arrangements are the mouse pad, where the pad is tapped for left mouse button operation, or voice activated. For a tilt headset, shaking the head to signal a click would probably be possible, but a normal finger, thumb or foot operated switch would be easier to use.

However, for some specific designs of exercise machine, the control and main unit can be accommodated in the same housing, eliminating the need for external controllmouse interfaces. For example a simple unit may be made to fit on the handlebar of a rowing machine. The nylon cord may emanate from the rear of the control and clipped to the front of the rowing machine.

Connections between the main unit and PC and the main unit and the control device may be achieved by two separate mulitcore cables. In both cases, infra-red, ultrasonic or radio wave transmitters/receivers could be used for a cordless design.

14

Claims

1. An interface unit for linking an exercise machine to a computer having a visual display device on which a pointer is moveable, comprising a speed response device for connecting to an exercise machine to generate a signal proportional to the speed of use of the exercise machine, a user controlled unit for generating directional control signals, and means for transmitting a speed signal and the directional signals to a computer input circuit in use generating output signals determining the direction and speed of movement of the on-screen pointer.

2. An interface unit according to claim 1, wherein the user controlled device comprises a joystick, mouse or analogous control device capable of controlling directional movement of a pointer on a computer screen.

An interface unit according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the directional control signals together with the speed signals, are adapted to be fed to the mouse or equivalent input port on the computer.

4. An interface unit according to any of claims 1 to 3, which includes a recoiling cord means attached to the machine, or for attachment to the cursor, for driving a mechanical device which generates the speed signal.

5. An interface unit according to claim 4, wherein the mechanical device includes a member driven in unidirectional rotation.

6. An interface unit according to claim 5, wherein, where the machine or user produces a reciprocating drive, the mechanical device includes means for converting the reciprocating drive into a unidirectional rotary motion.

7. An interface unit according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the exercise movement derived from the machine or user is employed to drive a dynamo or equivalent electromagnetic device to generate a voltage signal processed to provide signals for input to the mouse circuit.

8. An interface unit according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein differentially phased signals for input to the mouse circuit are generated by use of photodiodes.

9. An interface unit according to any of claims 1 to 8, including means for adjusting the speed of response of the pointer to the speed of machine or user movement.

10. An interface unit according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the user controlled device is adapted to be carried by the user.

II. An interface unit according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the user controlled device is adapted to be carried by the exercise machine.

12. An interface unit according to any of claims 1 to 11, wherein the speed and directional control signals are adapted to be fed to the computer in a cableless manner.

13. An exercise machine equipped with means for linking the machine to a computer having a visual display device (VDU) on which a pointer is moveable, said means comprising a speed response device for generating a signal proportional to the speed of use of the exercise machine, a user controlled device also being provided to generate directional control signals together with means for transmitting the generated signals to a computer input circuit in use generating output signals defining the direction and speed of movement of the on-screen pointer.

14. An exercise machine according to claim 13, wherein the user controlled device comprises a joystick, mouse or analogous control device capable of controlling directional movement of a pointer on a computer screen.

16

15. An exercise machine according to claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the directional control signals together with the speed signal are adapted to be fed to the mouse or equivalent input port on the computer.

16. An exercise machine according to any of claims 13 to 15, which includes a recoiling cord means attached to the machine, or for attachment to the user, for driving a mechanical device which generates the speed signal.

17. An exercise machine according to claim 16, wherein the mechanical device includes a member driven in unidirectional rotation.

18. An exercise machine according to claim 17, wherein, where the machine or user produces a reciprocating drive, the mechanical device includes means for converting the reciprocating drive into a unidirectional rotary motion.

19. An exercise machine according to any of claims 13 to 18, including means for adjusting the speed of response of the pointer to the speed of machine or user movement.

20. An exercise machine according to any of claims 13 to 19, wherein the user controlled device is adapted to be carried by the user.

21. An exercise machine according to any of claims 13 to 19, wherein the user controlled device is adapted to be carried by the exercise machine.

22. An exercise machine having an interface unit according to any of claims 1 to 12 built into the machine on manufacture of the machine.

23. An exercise machine/computer combination wherein the computer generates a display on a VDU, and an interface unit links the exercise machine to the computer so that 17 the rate of change of the display on the VDU is dependent on the speed of use of the machine.

24. An interface unit between an exercise machine and a computer substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.