Granted Patent B2

US 9,889,334 · App. 14/213,802 · Granted Feb 13, 2018

Abstract

Claims (31)

1. A method of determining a person's weight, the method comprising:

driving, by a drive motor, a treadbelt of a treadmill while a person is exercising on the treadbelt;

measuring, by a sensor, an electric current utilized by the drive motor over a period of time that the person exercises on the treadbelt as the treadbelt is driven by the drive motor;

changing a slope of the treadbelt while measuring the electric current utilized by the drive motor;

analyzing, by a computer, the measured electric current; and

determining, by the computer and based on the analysis of the measured electric current, a weight value that is the weight of the person positioned on the treadbelt of the treadmill.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the measured electric current further comprises:

analyzing an average measured electric current over the period of time that the person exercises on the treadbelt.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising determining a cadence of the person positioned on the treadbelt.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein analyzing an average measured electric current comprises:

analyzing an average measured electric current corresponding to the determined cadence.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising positioning the treadbelt to simulate a declining slope.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising positioning the treadbelt to simulate an inclining slope.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining a weight value of the person comprises:

comparing, by the computer, the measured electric current to a value on a lookup table.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining a weight value of the person comprises inputting the measured electric current into a mathematical function.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein driving the treadbelt of the treadmill with the drive motor while the person is positioned on the treadbelt comprises driving the treadbelt at a linear speed less than about 2.25 meters per second.

10. A method of calculating calories expended by a person while exercising on a treadmill, the method comprising:

driving, by a drive motor, a treadbelt of the treadmill while the person is positioned on the treadbelt;

positioning the treadbelt to simulate a declining slope;

measuring, by a sensor, an electric current utilized by the drive motor over a period of time that the person exercises on a treadbelt of the treadmill while the treadbelt is driven by the motor;

changing the slope of the treadbelt while measuring the electric current utilized by the drive motor;

analyzing, by a computer, the measured electric current;

determining, by the computer and based on the analysis of the measure electric current, a weight of the person positioned on the treadbelt of the treadmill; and

calculating, by the computer, calorie expenditure using the determined weight of the person.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein analyzing the measured electric current further comprises:

analyzing an average measured electric current over the period of time that the person exercises on the treadbelt.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining a cadence of the person positioned on the treadbelt.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein determining a weight of the person comprises comparing the measured electric current to a value on a lookup table.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein determining a weight of the person comprises inputting the measured electric current into a mathematical function.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein driving the treadbelt of the treadmill with the drive motor while the person is positioned on the treadbelt comprises driving the treadbelt at a linear speed less than about 2.25 meters per second.

Assignments (21)