Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L9/00—Cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communications; Network security protocols
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
  • A63B24/00—Electric or electronic controls for exercising apparatus of preceding groups; Controlling or monitoring of exercises, sportive games, training or athletic performances
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
  • A61B5/0002—Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G16—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS
  • G16H—HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
  • G16H20/00—ICT specially adapted for therapies or health-improving plans, e.g. for handling prescriptions, for steering therapy or for monitoring patient compliance
  • G16H20/30—ICT specially adapted for therapies or health-improving plans, e.g. for handling prescriptions, for steering therapy or for monitoring patient compliance relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G16—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS
  • G16H—HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
  • G16H40/00—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices
  • G16H40/60—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices for the operation of medical equipment or devices
  • G16H40/67—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices for the operation of medical equipment or devices for remote operation
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L63/00—Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security
  • H04L63/08—Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security for authentication of entities
  • H04L63/0861—Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security for authentication of entities using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the technical field of information systems in general which allow an exchange of information between a user and a data base or a network; in particular this system can be correlated to the fitness or wellness sector and integrated with exercise machines for training, re-educating and maintaining the well- being of the body.
• Exercise machines of more modern and advanced conception, both professional and amateur-oriented, are designed in such a way as to allow the user to plan his/her physical activities in relation with his/her own personal characteristics and requirements.
• machines which, although conceived for a general employment able to meet the diversified demands of a plurality of users, can then be pre-set on each occasion as a function of each individual user and of the workout plan the user actually intends to follow.
• a personalised management system for this type of machined is, for instance, already known from the patent IT-1.274.053 in the name of the same Applicant.
• the present invention more particularly relates to a telecommunication system which extends beyond the physical borders of a gym or of a physical education venue in general, and has the fundamental aim of allowing a further advancement of the individual management of physical activities and a more advanced and accurate personalisation so as to take into consideration the person's actual physiological conditions, enabling to take into account also a series of other parameters such as those concerning his/her nutrition and those concerning the energy consumption linked with that person's actual daily lifestyle.
• a telecommunication system for exchanging confidential information, for instance concerning physiological state parameters, between a physical person and an information system, characterised in that it comprises a telephone intercommunicating with the information system and provided with means for identifying the person operating by recognition of at least a physical characteristic uniquely distinguishing the person, embodied for instance by a fingerprint reader or by a retinal image reader.
• the invention enables a dialogue with the information system which allows numerous advantages.
• the user has the capability of entering personal and specific information pertaining to some significant physiological parameters, whose processing can allow the user to receive in return equally focused and specific information, such as some parameters relating to the scientifically managed quantification and graduation of his/her own personal workout plans to be carried out on the exercise machines, based on the information entered; all, obviously, under the conditions of utmost and certain personalisation and utmost confidentiality allowed by the identifying means.
• the telephone with which the system is provided can further allow the insertion into the information system of data pertaining for instance to the energy content stored with daily nutrition or referable to a different time interval; and/or information wherefrom the portion of energy content dissipated by the user through his/her work activity during the same time interval can be deduced. All this to allow to manage the user's physical activity on the exercise machine in a personalised, rational manner as a function of a realistic energy budget. Similarly with regard to the management of diets, nutrition, linked to the aforesaid physical activities or otherwise.
• the telephone can allow the user to connect also to the information system both locally and remotely. It can be connected to the information system by means of a fixed physical network; or, if the telephone is constituted by a radiotelephone, irrespective of its constructive technology, it can allow the wireless exchange of information between the user and the information system. In either case the exchange of information is easy, immediate and possible on a global and planetary scale.
• the aforesaid personalisation of the configuration of the machines is not limited to exercise machines, but can be extended also to electrical appliances or to machines finding more general employment whose functionalities allow, for instance, to interact in the broadest sense of the term with the physical well-being of the user and/or with his/her energy exchanges with the surrounding environment.
• the telecommunication system according to the invention can advantageously interconnect with local area networks such as intranets or with the global network, the
• Figure 1 is a schematic block function representation of the telecommunication system according to the invention
• Figure 2 is a detailed block function representation of a variation in the execution of the system of Figure 1.
• the number 1 indicates in its entirety a telecommunication system for exchanging information concerning personal physiological state parameters between a physical person and an information system 2.
• the system 1 essentially comprises measuring means 3, such as a cardiac frequency meter, for measuring directly from the physical person physiological parameters significant for monitoring his/her physical condition; and processing means
• the processing means 4 [ Figure 1] comprise a microprocessor device 5, first interface means 7, 8, 9, 10 and a terminal 6, preferably of the telephonic type which incorporates the microprocessor device 5 and the first interface means 7, 8, 9, 10.
• the microprocessor device 5 is provided with a central processing unit CPU; with means
• the terminal 6, as stated, is preferably telephonic, of the portable, palmtop type and it is integrated in a single body with the microprocessor device 5. Moreover, according to an alternative embodiment, shown in Figure 2, it comprises a radiotelephone which allows the person to be connected with the information system
• the interface means 7, 8, 9, 10 are interconnected with the measuring means 3 and can be interconnected with an input device 13 and with means 15, 16 for identifying the person.
• the input device 13 can be embodied by a keyboard or by the keypad of the telephone 6, or by a barcode reader with which the telephone 6 can be equipped.
• the means 15, 16 for identifying the person can be embodied by a fingerprint reader and/or also by a retinal image reader.
• the first interface means 7, 8, 9, 10 in combination with the microprocessor device 5 allow to enter into the information system 2, and through the first interface means 7, 8, 9, 10 and the microprocessor device 5, information that is understandable for the operating system by suitably converting the signals la of the measuring means
• the information that can be entered into the information system 2 can be the most disparate, as it is easy to understand that through the keyboard 13 the physical person can enter the most widely varied information establishing, through the software that equips the processing means 4, a veritable dialogue with the information system 2.
• the insertion of information through the bar code reader can allow to send to the information system 2, in a rapid and complete manner, information for instance on the nature, quality and quantity of food products consumed by the user with his/her daily nutrition; information which can then be processed by the information system 2 for a whole series of diet and energy information which can be both aimed at informing the physical person or at being exploited to quantify and modulate the workload needed by the physical person to work them off.
• the processing means 4 can be provided with an output device 20, 21, 22 interconnected with related second interface means 29, 30, 31.
• the output device can present the most disparate embodiments and can be embodied for instance by a video 20, by a display 21, by a printer 22 and can lastly be integrated in the same processing means 4 and, more in particular in the portable terminal 6 or even in the radiotelephone itself which can integrate in a single body also the second interface means 29, 30, 31 themselves.
• the processing means 4 also comprise third interface means 35, 36, 37 connected with an output device 23, 24 which receives from the information system 2 information in the form of appropriately processed signals cl, c2, c3.
• the third interface means 35, 36, 37 can be integrated in the same portable telephone 6 or even in the radiotelephone.
• the output device connected thereto can assume a broad range of concrete embodiments, represented by way of non limiting example by a board 23 with miniaturised circuitry able to store said signals cl, c2, c3; or by a directly connected machine 24, 25 whose functionalities can be modulated according to the person's physiological parameters.
• the board 23 can be of the kind employed by the system for managing the personalisation of exercise machines already subjected to patent protection by the same Applicant, and can allow the physical person to store through the communication system 1 the signals which will be necessary for configuring the exercise machines when the physical person accesses his/her own gym.
• portable processing means 4, integrated in a related radiotelephone 6, it is possible to connect to the operating system 2 the exercise machine 24 of one's own gym or in general any other electrical appliance 25 able to interact energetically with the person and to download in real time from the operating system 2 the configuration parameters necessary for personalising the machine 24, 25.
• the information system 2 can include a computerised data base and/or even the software for processing the physical person's own personal data as well as data contained in the data base.
• the information system 2 can reside within a local computer or otherwise can be contained in a remote server reachable by telephone 6 through an information network 28 which can be local, remote, fixed or wireless like those currently employed for mobile telephony. Interactivity with the network 28 shall be enabled by providing the processing means 4, included in the telephone 6, with suitable software, for instance of the Windows CE type, which is found to be particularly well suited to equip portable, palmtop processing means 4.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Medical Informatics (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Epidemiology (AREA)
• Primary Health Care (AREA)
• Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
• Biophysics (AREA)
• General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
• Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
• Molecular Biology (AREA)
• Surgery (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Pathology (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Telephonic Communication Services (AREA)
• Medical Treatment And Welfare Office Work (AREA)
• Facsimiles In General (AREA)
• Data Exchanges In Wide-Area Networks (AREA)
• Computer And Data Communications (AREA)
• Measuring And Recording Apparatus For Diagnosis (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

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Cited By (3)

Families Citing this family (1)

Citations (3)

• 1999
  • 1999-04-16 IT IT1999BO000180A patent/IT1314681B1/it active
• 2000
  • 2000-04-13 EP EP00914333A patent/EP1087823A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-04-13 JP JP2000612001A patent/JP2002542691A/ja active Pending
  • 2000-04-13 AU AU35726/00A patent/AU771125B2/en not_active Expired
  • 2000-04-13 KR KR1020007014100A patent/KR20010072607A/ko not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-04-13 WO PCT/IB2000/000459 patent/WO2000062866A1/en not_active Ceased

Patent Citations (3)

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