Sensing applications for exercise machines

1. A system for profiling an exercise session of an exercise machine, comprising:

a user interface to input physical characteristics or workout parameters;

a sensor operatively coupled to the exercise machine that is to generate an output signal in proportion to a magnitude of a vertical force directly imparted to a horizontal surface of the exercise machine by a foot of a user; and

a control system to process the output signal to determine a magnitude of a peak or trough value of the output signal, wherein the control system is to process the peak or trough value of the output signal to profile the exercise session.

2. A system as described in claim 1 , wherein the sensor comprises a piezoelectric sensor.

3. A system as described in claim 1 , wherein the profile comprises a cadence of the user, a stride length of the user, a gait of the user, or a caloric expenditure of the user.

4. A system as described in claim 3 , wherein the exercise machine is a treadmill and the cadence of the user comprises counting footstrikes impacting a deck of the treadmill within a period of time or counting a time interval between consecutive footstrikes impacting the deck, wherein the output signal is generated in response to a deflection of the deck caused by a footstrike impacting the deck, wherein the footstrike is represented by the peak or trough values of the output signal.

5. A system as described in claim 1 , wherein the physical characteristics include, height, weight, age, gender, or inseam.

6. A system as described in claim 1 , wherein the workout parameters comprise a belt speed, a deck incline angle, a deck stiffness value, a target cadence, a target stride length, or a target heart rate.

7. A system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the exercise machine is a treadmill and wherein the output signals are processed by the control system to determine whether the user is running or walking.

8. A system as described in claim 1 , wherein the exercise machine is a treadmill and further comprising a cadence coach, wherein the cadence coach compares a calculated cadence value determined by the output signal with a target cadence selected by the user via the user interface or retrieved from look-up tables based on the input physical characteristics and workout parameters.

9. A system as described in claim 1 , wherein the exercise machine is a treadmill and further comprising a deck stiffness adjustor to adjust the stiffness of the deck if a deck stiffness value received from the input interface is not between lower and upper threshold deck stiffness values retrieved from a data structure having a look-up table that are based on the physical characteristics and workout parameters.

10. A system as described in claim 1 , wherein the exercise machine is a treadmill and further comprising activating the treadmill from standby status when the an output signal is greater than an inactivity threshold value for a predetermined period of time.

11. A system as described in claim 7 , wherein the exercise machine is a treadmill and wherein the output signal is processed by the control system to select between a running metabolic cost equation or a walking metabolic cost equation when determining a caloric expenditure of the user during the exercise session.

12. A system as described in claim 1 , wherein the control system detects whether a first output signal comprises a first new peak or trough value and whether a second output signal comprises a second new peak or trough value.

13. A system as described in claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of output signals, wherein the plurality of output signals is generated in response to consecutive footfalls of the user impacting the deck during the exercise session.

14. A system as described in claim 13 , wherein the plurality of output signals is generated in response to a vertical deflection in the deck of the exercise machine caused by the footfalls impacting the deck.

15. An exercise machine comprising:

a sensor module mounted adjacent a deck of the exercise machine that is to generate output signals that correlate to a rate of deflection imparted to the deck during an exercise session; and

a control system to process the output signals generated by the sensor module to determine a magnitude of each output signal, wherein a sensing application implemented by the exercise machine is to utilize the magnitude of the output signals generated during the exercise session.

16. An exercise machine of claim 15 , wherein the magnitudes of the output signals are represented by peak and trough values of the output signals.

17. An exercise machine of claim 16 , wherein the output signals are generated in response to deflections of the deck caused by footstrikes impacting the deck, wherein the footstrikes are represented by the peak or trough values of the output signals.

18. An exercise machine of claim 15 , wherein the sensing application comprises using the magnitude of the output signals to determine a cadence of a user, a stride length of the user, a gait of the user, a caloric expenditure of the user, selection between a running metabolic cost equation or a walking metabolic cost equation when determining a caloric expenditure of the user during the exercise session, a cadence coach, a deck stiffness, or activating the exercise machine from a standby status.

19. An exercise machine of claim 15 , further comprising a user interface to receive at least one workout parameter or physical characteristic.

20. An exercise machine of claim 19 , wherein the sensing application is to utilize the magnitudes of the output signals and the at least one workout parameter or physical characteristic.

21. A system as defined in claim 17 , wherein the exercise machine is treadmill, wherein the sensing application processes the output signals to detect a first output signal having a first new peak or trough value and a second output signal having a second new peak or trough value, and wherein the sensing application calculates a cadence value of a user by counting a time interval between consecutive new peak and trough values generated by the output signals.

22. A system as defined in claim 17 , wherein the exercise machine is treadmill having a belt, wherein the sensing application multiplies a speed value of the belt of the treadmill and the time interval between first and second peak or trough values of the first and second output signals to calculate a stride length of a user.

23. A system for profiling an exercise session of an exercise machine, comprising:

a user interface to input physical characteristics or workout parameters;

a sensor operatively coupled to the exercise machine that is to generate an output signal in proportion to a magnitude of a force imparted on the exercise machine in response to an impact to the exercise machine; and

a control system to process the output signal to determine a magnitude of a peak or trough value of the output signal and to detect whether a first output signal comprises a first new peak or trough value and whether a second output signal comprises a second new peak or trough value, wherein the control system is to process the peak or trough value of the output signal to profile the exercise session.

24. A system of claim 23 , wherein the force imparted on the exercise machine comprises a vertical force imparted to a horizontal surface of the exercise machine by a user during the exercise session.