JP2004113552A - Exercise aid device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an exercise aid device capable of informing an exercising person of an appropriate walking pitch without reducing his/her desire for exercise. <P>SOLUTION: The exercise aid device 10 calculates the walking pitch based on physical information of the exercising person and feature information of a walking course (step S5), displays the list of music data of a tempo nearly matching this walking pitch (step S6), and changes the tempo of music data selected from the list to a tempo matching the calculated walking pitch and reproduce the music data (step S8). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an exercise assisting device for notifying a walking pitch when walking or jogging.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been provided an exercise assisting device that emits a pitch sound and informs a walking person of a walking pitch during walking or jogging. Further, in this type of exercise assisting device, there is a device in which a target walking pitch is calculated by using a walking speed and a sex, a height, a weight, and an age of an exerciser as variables and a sound can be emitted (for example, see Patent Document 1). 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-9-56844 (page 2, FIG. 1)
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, walking and the like are exercises that are performed continuously for a relatively long time, so that the athlete continuously listens to the pitch sound for a long time. However, if the pitch sound is heard for a long period of time, it may become harsh for the athlete, and the athlete may lose his motivation to exercise.
[0005]
A person who does not like such a pitch sound may wear a portable player such as an MD (Mini Disk) player and exercise while listening to music. However, when listening to music, there is a problem that the walking pitch of the exerciser is affected by the tempo of the music.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and has as its object to provide an exercise assisting device that can notify an appropriate walking pitch without reducing the exercise motivation of an exerciser.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 includes a walking pitch calculation unit that calculates a walking pitch based on input information, a storage unit that stores a plurality of music data, and a storage unit that stores a plurality of music data. From among the plurality of stored music data, music data having a tempo substantially matching the walking pitch calculated by the walking pitch calculating means is specified, and music data selecting means for prompting selection, and the selected music data is reproduced. And reproducing means. According to this configuration, music data having a tempo substantially matching the calculated walking pitch is reproduced, so that the walking pitch can be notified by music.
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first aspect, the reproducing means sets the tempo of the music data when the tempo of the music data is not the same as the calculated walking pitch. The reproduction is performed by correcting the tempo to match the walking pitch. According to this configuration, since the music data is reproduced at a tempo that matches the calculated walking pitch, an accurate walking pitch can be notified.
[0009]
Further, the invention according to claim 3 includes a walking pitch calculating means for calculating a walking pitch based on the input information, a storing means for storing music data, and a reproducing means for reproducing the music data. If the tempo of the music data is not the same as the calculated walking pitch, the reproducing means corrects the tempo of the music data to a tempo matching the walking pitch and reproduces the corrected tempo. According to this configuration, music data can be reproduced at a tempo that matches the calculated walking pitch, and an accurate walking pitch can be notified.
[0010]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to any one of the first to third aspects, the input information is information on at least one of physical information, exercise amount, and exercise location of the exerciser. There is a feature. According to this configuration, the walking pitch can be calculated according to the physical information, the amount of exercise, and the exercise location for the exerciser.
[0011]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a step counting means for counting the number of steps of the wearer of the exercise assisting device and a counting result of the step counting means are provided. A calorie consumption notifying means for calculating the calorie consumption using the information and notifying the user of the calorie. According to this configuration, it is possible to notify the calorie consumption by the exercise.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below show one aspect of the present invention, and do not limit the present invention, and can be arbitrarily changed within the scope of the present invention.
[0013]
The exercise assisting device 10 according to the present embodiment is a device that is formed to be portable to a user (exercise person) and is used when walking is performed. More specifically, the exercise assisting device 10 is formed into a wristwatch type that can be attached to the user's arm or a belt-fixed type that can be attached to the user's waist belt, and an earphone that can be attached to the user's ear is drawn out. ing.
[0014]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the exercise assisting device 10.
[0015]
In the exercise assisting device 10, the storage unit 11 stores various control programs, a walking pitch calculation program, a music reproduction program, and the like. Here, the walking pitch calculation program is a program describing an arithmetic process for obtaining a walking pitch from predetermined information. The predetermined information includes, for example, physical information of the user such as gender, weight, age, gender, exercise history, physical condition, information on the amount of exercise such as walking distance and time, and the degree of undulation of the walking course (flatland, mountain slope ), Etc., characteristic information of the walking course. The music playback program is a program describing a process capable of playing music data at different playback speeds. In the present embodiment, a case of a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) data playback program will be described as an example. .
[0016]
The storage unit 12 stores a plurality of music data and the predetermined information. Note that the predetermined information is input by the user by operating the operation unit 13 described later. Also, the plurality of music data is music data for each song of songs having various tempos. Here, music data of various formats such as MIDI, WAV, and MP3 are applied. In the present embodiment, a case where MIDI data is used as an example of music data will be described. Note that the MIDI data has features such as a smaller data amount than music data such as WAV and MP3, easy processing (tempo change, etc.) of the music, and a description of the tempo of the music in a predetermined area. Have.
[0017]
The control unit 14 reads and executes various programs stored in the storage unit 11 to control each unit of the exercise assisting device 10 and perform various arithmetic processes. For example, the control unit 14 executes the music reproduction program to reproduce the music data stored in the storage unit 12 and outputs a reproduction signal to the audio output unit 15.
[0018]
The audio output unit 15 amplifies the reproduction signal input from the control unit 14 to a predetermined level, and outputs the amplified signal to an earphone (not shown). The earphone is detachably attached to the exercise assisting device 10. Note that a speaker may be built in the exercise assisting device 10 and a sound corresponding to the output signal of the sound output unit 15 may be emitted from the speaker.
[0019]
The operation unit 13 notifies the control unit 14 of operations of various operators arranged in advance on the exercise assisting device 10. In the present embodiment, a power switch, a play button for instructing playback of music data, a dial for volume adjustment, a stop button for instructing stop of playback, a forward button, a return button, a decision button, and the like are arranged as operators. .
[0020]
The display unit 16 is a liquid crystal display or the like, and displays various information under the control of the control unit 14. The step counting section 17 counts the number of steps of the user, and includes a vibration sensor that detects the vibration of the exercise assisting device 10, a counter that counts an output signal of the vibration sensor, and the like. The counter value of the counter is reset to 0 by the control unit 14.
[0021]
Further, although not shown, the exercise assisting device 10 includes a power supply unit for supplying electric power of the set battery to each unit.
[0022]
Next, the operation of the exercise assisting device 10 will be described. Here, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the exercise assisting device 10.
[0023]
In the exercise assisting device 10, when the power is turned on or a predetermined operation element is operated, the control unit 14 executes a program stored in the storage unit 11 to firstly execute a physical information input screen. Is displayed on the display unit 16 (step S1).
[0024]
Then, when the physical information is input via the operation unit 13 (step S2: YES), the control unit 14 stores the physical information in a predetermined area of the storage unit 12, and then inputs the walking course characteristic information input screen. Is displayed on the display unit 16 (step S3). When the physical information is not input (step S2: NO), the control unit 14 waits.
[0025]
Next, when the feature information is input via the operation unit 13 (step S4: YES), the control unit 14 stores the feature information in a predetermined area of the storage unit 12, and then based on the feature information and the physical information. The walking pitch is calculated (Step S5). For the processing of calculating the walking pitch, various known methods may be applied. In the present embodiment, the case where the walking pitch is calculated from the physical information and the characteristic information has been described. However, the input of the information on the exercise amount such as the walking distance and the time is further received, and the walking pitch is calculated from the information. Good. Further, the walking pitch may be calculated from any one of the physical information, the characteristic information, and the information on the amount of exercise.
[0026]
Next, after calculating the walking pitch, the control unit 14 specifies music data having a tempo substantially matching the calculated walking pitch, and causes the display unit 14 to display a list of the music data (step S6). More specifically, the control unit 14 refers to the tempo of each piece of music data stored in the storage unit 12, and plays music of a tempo within a predetermined range (for example, a range of several tens) before and after the tempo that matches the walking pitch. Identify the data. Then, the control unit 14 causes the display unit 14 to display a list of song names of the specified music data.
[0027]
Next, the control unit 14 determines whether or not the user has selected a song from the list of song titles. If it is determined that the song has been selected (step S2: YES), the music data is read out from the storage unit 12 and reproduced. (Step S8). At this time, the control unit 14 changes the tempo of the music data to the tempo corresponding to the walking pitch calculated in the process of step S5, and reproduces the music data. That is, if the tempo preset in the music data (tempo described in the data) is not the same as the calculated walking pitch, the control unit 14 corrects the tempo to match the walking pitch and reproduces the music. It has become.
[0028]
Thereby, the control unit 14 emits music from the earphone at a tempo that matches the walking pitch calculated in the process of step S5. Since the walking pitch is calculated based on the physical characteristics of the user and the characteristics of the walking course as described above, the walking pitch is optimal for the user. Therefore, by performing music reproduction at a tempo matching this walking pitch, it is possible to notify the user of a walking pitch that is optimal for walking.
[0029]
By the way, if the tempo of music data is greatly changed, the tune will be greatly changed. In the present embodiment, as described above, music data whose original tempo is close to the originally calculated tempo is listed. Therefore, the amount of change in the tempo of the music data can be minimized, and the music can be reproduced without discomfort. Further, since the music data (song) to be reproduced is finally selected by the user, it is possible to reproduce music that meets the user's desire.
[0030]
Further, the control unit 14 causes the display unit 16 to display the number of steps counted by the number-of-steps counting unit 17 during reproduction of music data or the like. At this time, the control unit 14 performs a process of calculating the exercise distance and the calorie consumption by a known method based on the number of steps and the physical information (such as weight) of the exerciser, and displays the exercise distance and the calorie consumption on the display unit 16. It is made to let. That is, the control unit 14 functions as a step counting unit and a calorie consumption notifying unit in addition to the music data reproducing unit.
[0031]
As described above, the exercise assisting device 10 according to the present embodiment calculates the appropriate walking pitch to the user and plays the music at the tempo that matches the walking pitch. it can. Therefore, if the user walks in accordance with the tempo of the music to be played, the user can perform a walking exercise at an appropriate pace. In other words, if the user walks in time with the rhythm of the music to be played, the user can naturally perform an appropriate walking exercise. As a result, the user can perform the walking exercise while listening to his favorite music, and can enjoy the walking exercise more happily without getting bored compared to the conventional one that emits a simple pitch sound.
[0032]
In the above-described embodiment, the case where a plurality of music data are stored in advance has been described. However, a portable recording medium can be inserted into the exercise assisting device, or a personal computer can be connected, The user may be able to add favorite music data or change stored music data.
[0033]
In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which music data in the MIDI format is used. However, when music data other than the MIDI format is used, the following may be performed. By storing a table describing the tempo of the music data in the storage unit 12, the tempo of each music data can be known. Thus, the control unit 14 can specify music data having a tempo substantially matching the calculated walking pitch, and change the tempo of the music data by changing the reproduction speed.
[0034]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the tempo of the music data is not the tempo that matches the calculated walking pitch and the reproduction is performed after correcting the tempo to match the walking pitch has been described. Alternatively, when certain conditions are satisfied, such as when the user does not want to change the tempo, the tempo may not be changed.
[0035]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the user selects one piece of music data and reproduces it is described. However, a plurality of pieces of music can be selected, and the user can select whether to repeatedly or randomly reproduce them. It may be.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, an appropriate walking pitch can be notified without reducing the motivation of the exerciser.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exercise assisting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the exercise assisting device.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 10 exercise assist devices 11, 12 storage unit 13 operation unit 14 control unit 15 voice output unit 16 display unit 17 step counting unit

Claims (5)

Walking pitch calculating means for calculating a walking pitch based on the input information;
Storage means for storing a plurality of music data;
Music data selection means for identifying music data having a tempo substantially matching the walking pitch calculated by the walking pitch calculation means from among the plurality of music data stored in the storage means,
An exercise assisting device comprising: reproducing means for reproducing selected music data. If the tempo of the music data is not the same as the calculated walking pitch, the reproducing means corrects the tempo of the music data to a tempo matching the walking pitch and reproduces the corrected tempo. 2. The exercise assisting device according to 1. Walking pitch calculating means for calculating a walking pitch based on the input information;
Storage means for storing music data;
Playback means for playing back the music data,
When the tempo of the music data is not the tempo matching the calculated walking pitch, the reproducing means corrects the music data tempo to the tempo matching the walking pitch and reproduces the data. apparatus. The exercise assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the input information is information on at least one of physical information, exercise amount, and exercise location of the exerciser. Step counting means for counting the number of steps of the wearer of the exercise assisting device,
The exercise assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: a calorie consumption notifying unit that calculates a calorie consumption using the counting result of the step counting unit and notifies the wearer of the calorie consumption. .

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