U.S. patent application number 10/941243 was filed with the patent office on 2006-03-16 for systems, methods, and computer readable media for determining a circuit training path in a smart gym.
This patent application is currently assigned to International Business Machines Corporation. Invention is credited to Gabriel Aaron Cohen, Gerald Laverte JR. Mitchell.
Application Number | 20060058156 10/941243 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36034800 |
Filed Date | 2006-03-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060058156 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cohen; Gabriel Aaron ; et
al. |
March 16, 2006 |
Systems, methods, and computer readable media for determining a
circuit training path in a smart gym
Abstract
Techniques are provided for determining a circuit training path
in a smart gym for an exerciser to perform an exercise program in
order to minimize user contention for exercise equipment. The
training path is defined by the exerciser visiting a number of
exercise machines in the order specified by a system. The system
determines a next exercise machine for the exerciser to visit which
addresses the personal exercise program. In making this
determination, the system communicates with all station agent nodes
in the system to determine the set of station agent nodes that have
an associated exercise machine which operate to address the
personal exercise program. Out of that set of station agent nodes,
the system reserves the next exercise machine associated with one
of the set of station agent nodes that has a state value reflecting
the least waiting time for the exerciser.
Inventors: |
Cohen; Gabriel Aaron;
(Raleigh, NC) ; Mitchell; Gerald Laverte JR.;
(Raleigh, NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Jerry W. Herndon;IBM Corporation
T81/503
3039 Cornwallis Road
Research Triangle Park
NC
27709
US
|
Assignee: |
International Business Machines
Corporation
Armonk
NY
|
Family ID: |
36034800 |
Appl. No.: |
10/941243 |
Filed: |
September 15, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/4 ;
482/8 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 71/0697 20130101;
A63B 24/00 20130101; A63B 24/0075 20130101; A63B 2225/15
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/004 ;
482/008 |
International
Class: |
A63B 24/00 20060101
A63B024/00; A63B 71/00 20060101 A63B071/00 |
Claims
1. A system for determining a circuit training path in a smart gym
for an exerciser to perform an exercise program, the system
comprising: a network; a plurality of station agent nodes; and a
management node for determining a next exercise machine for the
exerciser to perform an exercise, the management node receiving a
personal exercise program on behalf of the exerciser, the
management node determining a portion of the plurality of station
agent nodes having an associated exercise machine that operates to
address the personal exercise program, each of the portion of the
plurality of station agent nodes having a state, each of the
portion of the plurality of station agent nodes communicating their
state to the management node over the network, the management node
reserving the next exercise machine from the portion of the
plurality of station agent nodes having a state value reflecting
the least waiting time for the exerciser.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the management node receives the
personal exercise program from a networked data store.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein the management node receives the
personal exercise program from a handheld computer.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein the state of a station agent node
includes a vacancy state.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein the personal exercise program
comprises a workout stage having a plurality of target muscles.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein the personal exercise program
comprises a workout stage having a plurality of exercises.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein the personal exercise program
comprises a workout stage having a plurality of exercise
machines.
8. The system of claim 1 wherein the management node calculates a
waiting time for the exerciser to wait before visiting the next
station agent node.
9. The system of claim 4 wherein the state of a station agent node
includes a reservation state.
10. The system of claim 9 wherein the management node attempts to
find all the available and unreserved station agent nodes when
determining a portion of the plurality of station agent nodes which
have an associated exercise machine that operates to exercise one
of the plurality of target muscles.
11. A method for determining a training path in a smart gym for an
exerciser to perform an exercise program, the method comprising:
retrieving a personal exercise program on behalf of the exerciser;
determining a portion of a plurality of station agent nodes having
an associated exercise machine that operate to address the personal
exercise program; evaluating the state of the portion of the
plurality of station agent nodes; and reserving a next exercise
machine associated with one of the portion of the plurality of
station agent nodes having a state value reflecting the least
waiting time for the exerciser.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein the personal exercise program is
retrieved from a data store.
13. The method of claim 11 wherein the personal exercise program is
retrieved from a handheld computer.
14. The method of claim 11 wherein the state value indicates a
station agent node's vacancy state.
15. The method of claim 11 wherein the personal exercise program
includes a workout stage having a plurality of target muscles.
16. The method of claim 11 wherein the personal exercise program
includes a workout stage having a plurality of exercises.
17. The method of claim 11 wherein the personal exercise program
includes a workout stage having a plurality of exercise
machines.
18. The method of claim 11 wherein the reserving step further
comprises calculating a waiting time for the exerciser to wait
before visiting the next station agent node.
19. The method of claim 11 further comprising communicating to the
exerciser that the reserved machine is the next exercise machine
for the exerciser to visit.
20. The method of claim 14 wherein the state value indicates a
station agent node's reservation state.
21. The method of claim 20 wherein the vacancy state includes at
least an available condition, wherein the reservation state
includes at least an unreserved condition, wherein the determining
step further includes finding all the available and unreserved
station agent nodes.
22. A computer readable medium whose contents cause a computer
system to determine a circuit training path in a smart gym for an
exerciser to perform an exercise program, the computer system
performing the steps of: retrieving a personal exercise program on
behalf of the exerciser; determining a portion of a plurality of
station agent nodes having an associated exercise machine that
operate to address the personal exercise program; evaluating the
state of the portion of the plurality of station agent nodes; and
reserving a next exercise machine associated with one of the
portion of the plurality of station agent nodes having a state
value reflecting the least waiting time for the exerciser.
23. The computer readable medium of claim 22 wherein the personal
exercise program is retrieved from a data store.
24. The computer readable medium of claim 22 wherein the personal
exercise program is retrieved from a handheld computer.
25. The computer readable medium of claim 22 wherein the state
value indicates a station agent node's vacancy state.
26. The computer readable medium of claim 22 wherein the personal
exercise program includes a workout stage having a plurality of
target muscles.
27. The computer readable medium of claim 22 wherein the personal
exercise program includes a workout stage having a plurality of
exercises.
28. The computer readable medium of claim 22 wherein the personal
exercise program includes a workout stage having a plurality of
exercise machines.
29. The computer readable medium of claim 22 wherein the reserving
step further comprises calculating a waiting time for the exerciser
to wait before visiting the next station agent node.
30. The computer readable medium of claim 22 further comprising
communicating to the exerciser that the reserved machine is the
next exercise machine for the exerciser to visit.
31. The computer readable medium of claim 25 wherein the state
value indicates a station agent node's reservation state.
32. The computer readable medium of claim 31 wherein the vacancy
state includes at least an available condition, wherein the
reservation state includes at least an unreserved condition,
wherein the determining step further includes finding all the
available and unreserved station agent nodes.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention generally relates to systems, methods,
and computer readable media for improving circuit training in a
smart gym, and more particularly, to advantageous systems, methods,
and computer program products for determining a circuit training
path in a smart gym for efficient utilization of exercise
equipment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Circuit training exercise programs typically consist of
defining an ordered set of exercises performed on exercise
equipment to work out particular muscles or muscle groups, each
exercise having an associated duration or repetition count, and
associated levels of resistance. Traditional gyms provide a limited
number of stand alone pieces of exercise equipment, or stations, on
which to accomplish these exercise sets. Each station can be used
to perform a small set of specifically targeted exercises, for
example, a tricep machine is operated by a user to exercise the
user's tricep muscles, the target muscle. Since these stations can
only be in active use by one individual at a time and each
individual's exercise program is personal to that individual, there
is often contention for pieces of exercise equipment between
multiple individuals resulting in user downtime.
[0003] Lengthy downtime between performing exercises is not
desirable, since maintaining an elevated heart rate is important
over the course of an entire circuit. For exercises with multiple
sets, there is usually some desirable downtime between sets to rest
the target muscle stressed by the target machine allowing two or
more users to share a station by interleaving sets during each
other's downtime.
[0004] Furthermore, due to the increased demands on peoples lives,
exercisers are requiring more efficient use of their limited time
at the gym. At the same time, gym operators typically have limited
budgets and would not typically purchase more equipment to
accommodate increased usage. Additionally, spending money on
equipment purchases requires more floor space in which to fit the
additional equipment and increases the total maintenance cost for
keeping all the equipment in working order.
[0005] There is a growing surge in smart gym technology. Smart gyms
can be characterized as combining computers with exercise equipment
and associating identities with exercisers. Currently, some smart
gym technologies allow training programs to be associated with user
identities. A user can then identify themselves to a piece of
exercise equipment with a unique key, and the equipment will
retrieve their desired resistances and durations, and possibly
record the user's progress. Some equipment can even retrieve
settings for a user from the Internet, and maintain records of that
user's progress. However, the current state of smart gym technology
does not address the problem of optimizing the utilization of
exercise equipment by users to minimize contention for an
individual piece of equipment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Among its several aspects, the present invention recognizes
that a need exists for mechanisms for optimizing the utilization of
exercise equipment by users to minimize user contention for an
individual piece of equipment. The present invention also
recognizes that methods, systems, and computer program products are
needed to provide an efficient path through an equipment circuit to
an exerciser by automatically determining the next equipment
station in the equipment circuit an exerciser will visit.
[0007] To this end, the present invention addresses a variety of
aspects of a smart gym which may advantageously comprise a
plurality of station agent nodes, a management node, and a network
providing connectivity between the plurality of station agent nodes
and the management node. The station agent node preferably resides
on a computerized exercise station and is operable to report the
status of the exercise station. The station agent node also
retrieves a suggested next exercise machine in the equipment
circuit for an exerciser and directs a display to inform the
exerciser of the suggestion. The management node maintains and
directs the operations of the smart gym. The management node is
responsible for collating information from exercise stations
disposed in the equipment circuit. The management node retrieves an
exerciser's personal program and analyzes the collated information
to direct the exerciser from station to station through the
equipment circuit, resulting in a circuit training path.
[0008] A more complete understanding of the present invention, as
well as further features and advantages of the invention, will be
apparent from the following Detailed Description and the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is an illustration of an exemplary smart gym in which
the present invention may be suitably implemented.
[0010] FIG. 2A is a state diagram illustrating reservation states
of a station agent node of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present
invention.
[0011] FIG. 2B is a state diagram illustrating vacancy states of an
exercise machine of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present
invention.
[0012] FIG. 2C is a table illustrating the meaning for each state
combination of vacancy and reservation states in accordance with
the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 2D is a table illustrating an exemplary portion of a
personal exercise program.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary message
flow between a station agent and a management node of the system of
FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for determining
a start station and a next station in accordance with the present
invention.
[0016] FIG. 5 is a flow chart continuing the method of FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] The present invention will now be described more fully with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which several presently
preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention
may, however, be embodied in various forms and should not be
construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather,
these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be
thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the
invention to those skilled in the art.
[0018] As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the
present invention may be embodied as methods, systems, or computer
program products. Accordingly, the present invention may take the
form of a hardware embodiment, a software embodiment, or an
embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore,
the present invention may take the form of a computer program
product on a computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable
program code embodied in the medium. Any suitable computer readable
medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical
storage devices, flash memories, or magnetic storage devices.
[0019] The code may execute entirely on one or more computers, or
it may execute partly on a server and partly on a client within a
station device or as a proxy server at an intermediate point in a
communications network. Regarding the former scenario, FIG. 1
illustrates of an exemplary smart gym system 100 in which the
present invention may be suitably employed. The system 100 includes
a management node 110 networked over a local area network (LAN),
wide area network (WAN), or other intranet 140 with a set of
station agent nodes 150A-C. Alternatively, the management node 110
may be networked via a wireless LAN, WAN or other intranet network
with station agent nodes 150A-C and a handheld computer 170. The
management node 110 may optionally be networked with a data store
130 over Internet 120 via an Internet service provider (ISP). With
data store 130, an exerciser's exercise program is retrievable by
multiple smart gym sites. Otherwise, the exerciser's exercise
program is stored at management node 110. Each station agent node
150A-C is associated with an exercise machine 145A-C,
respectively.
[0020] Computer program code or "code" for carrying out operations
according to the present invention may be written in an object
oriented programming language such as C, C++, JAVA.RTM., Smalltalk,
JavaScript.RTM., Visual Basic.RTM., TSQL, Perl, or in various other
programming languages. Software embodiments of the present
invention do not depend on implementation with a particular
programming language. For simplicity of discussion, the terms
management node and station agent node are embodied in code for
carrying out operations according to the present invention.
Portions of the code may execute entirely on one or more systems
utilized by an intermediary server.
[0021] In one embodiment of the present invention, a station agent
node may consist entirely of program code stored within an exercise
machine if the exercise machine is computerized and programmable
and contains a communication interface and a display. In another
embodiment of the present invention, a station agent node may
consist of personal computer, workstation, or the like which is
connected to an exercise machine. The term "exercise station" as
used herein refers to the combination of an exercise machine and a
station agent node. For example, exercise station 147 encompasses
exercise equipment 145C and station agent node 150C. It should be
noted that the present invention contemplates a station agent node
controlling one or more exercise machines. It should also be noted
that a station agent node may not be associated with any exercise
machine.
[0022] The handheld computer 170, although depicted as a personal
digital assistant (PDA), may also include a cell phone, a notebook
computer, a pager or any other device which contains a display and
communicates wirelessly. The handheld computer 170 allows an
exerciser to maintain his or her own exercise log and exercise
program on the handheld computer 170 itself. The handheld computer
170 communicates an exercise program directly to an exercise
station through an infrared interface or through a wireless LAN
160. The handheld computer 170 also displays information generated
by the management node 110 or an exercise station including a next
exercise machine the exerciser will visit in the equipment circuit
according to the exerciser's personal exercise program in light of
the current activity at each exercise station. It is understood
that for simplicity only three station agent nodes and one handheld
computer are illustrated in FIG. 1, but that this representation
shall not be interpreted in limiting the number of station agent
nodes and optional handheld computer to those illustrated. It is
understood that the present invention is not TCP/IP-specific or
Internet-specific. The present invention may be embodied using
various transport and data link protocols over various types of
computer networks.
[0023] In operation, each station agent node receives information
from its associated exercise machine and receives information
either directly or indirectly from an exerciser. The exerciser may
communicate a personal exercise program through his or her handheld
computer 170. The personal exercise program may suitably specify an
identification number for the user, the total number of sets
planned to be performed on the exercise machine associated with the
station agent node, the number of repetitions for each set, the
resistance levels for each repetition in each set, and historical
completion times for using a similar exercise machine. The personal
exercise program may also specify three or more typical phases of a
workout such as a warm-up phase, a regular phase, and a cool down
phase. In each phase, a list of target muscles which would be the
focus of a selected exercise station are specified such as biceps,
triceps, upper back, lower back, shoulders, and the like.
Alternatively, other items such as specific exercises, exercise
equipment, target muscles, or any combination of these items may be
specified in a workout phase.
[0024] The personal exercise program may alternatively be retrieved
from the data store 130 by the management node 110 upon the user
inputting a personal identification number at a station agent node.
When an exerciser begins his or her exercise on an exercise
machine, the station agent node determines that the exercise
machine is occupied. During the course of exercising, the station
agent node receives current status information from the exercise
machine. Such status information includes an identification number
for the current user, the current set the current user is
performing, the current repetition being performed by the user, and
the current resistance level for the current repetition being
performed by the user. Additionally, regardless of the exercise
machine being occupied, messages indicating the health of the
exerciser and the operational status of the machine are transmitted
to the station agent node. The station agent node may periodically
report status information to the management node 110 or the
management node 110 may periodically request status information
from each station agent node.
[0025] The management node 110 maintains and directs the operations
of the smart gym 100. The management node 110 collates status
information received from station agent nodes 150A-C. If an
exercise station is not currently being used, the associated
station agent node reports that it is available. Furthermore, the
management node 110 receives each user's personal exercise program
from either the data store 130 or a handheld computer such as the
handheld computer 170. With the management node 110 having access
to each user's personal exercise program and the current status of
each exercise station, the present invention determines both a
first exercise station and a next exercise station which an
exerciser should visit in pursuing his or her workout. This
determination results in a personal path through the equipment
circuit and it is more fully described in connection with the
discussion of FIG. 4 below. It should be noted that the calculated
personal path is dynamic in nature and it may change during the
course of an exerciser traveling through the equipment circuit. The
changes depend on many factors, for example, the number of new
exercisers entering an equipment circuit, exercisers leaving the
equipment circuit before completion, and the like. Consequently,
the next equipment station for an exerciser to visit is preferably
determined and displayed to the exerciser. Alternatively, another
embodiment of the present invention would include determining an
entire path at the beginning of a workout and making modifications
to the path during the course of the exerciser's workout, if
necessary.
[0026] An exerciser about to begin an exercise circuit may approach
an available exercise station or a separate station agent node
embodied in a networked computer which is not associated with an
exercise machine. As described above, the exerciser will be
informed of his or her next exercise station of the equipment
circuit through either the display associated with a station node
or the exerciser's handheld computer. Alternatively, output to an
exerciser may be done through a display on the exercise machine.
The management node 110 considers the dynamic change in status of
each exercise station when calculating the next equipment station
to be visited by an exerciser.
[0027] FIG. 2A is a state diagram 200 illustrating reservation
states of a station agent node of FIG. 1 in accordance with the
present invention. A station agent node, such as station agent node
150A, may be in either a reserved state 205 or an unreserved state
210. A station agent node transitions between states over
transition 212 and transition 214. Transition 212 represents one or
more activities the occurrence of which would result in a station
agent node transitioning from the unreserved state 210 to the
reserved state 205. Transition 214 represents one or more
activities the occurrence of which would result in a station agent
node transitioning from the reserved state 205 to the unreserved
state 210. These activities are more fully described in connection
with the discussion of FIG. 5 below. One example of an activity
which would cause a station agent node to transition from the
reserved state 205 to the unreserved state 210 is when an exerciser
is exercising on a first exercise machine and during the
exerciser's exercise on the first exercise machine, the present
invention determines the next station agent node for the exerciser
and reserves the corresponding second exercise machine associated
with the next station agent node for that exerciser. It should be
noted that multiple exercisers may reserve the same next station
node in a queue.
[0028] FIG. 2B is a state diagram 220 illustrating vacancy states
of an exercise machine of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present
invention. An exercise machine, such as exercise machine 145A, may
be in either an occupied state 225 or an available state 230.
Transition 232 represents the occurrence of an exerciser beginning
his or her work out on the exercise machine which results in
transitioning the vacancy state from the available state 230 to the
occupied state 225. Transition 234 represents the occurrence of an
exerciser ending his or her workout on the exercise machine which
results in transitioning the vacancy state from the occupied state
225 to the available state 230. These state models may be
maintained in either each station agent node or in the management
node 110, or in any combination of such nodes. However, it is
preferable to maintain both state models in the management node
110.
[0029] FIG. 2C is a table 240 illustrating the meaning for each
state combination of vacancy and reservation states in accordance
with the present invention. For example, referring to row 450, when
an exercise machine is occupied as shown in column 445 and
corresponding station agent node has been reserved as shown in
column 455, this state combination means that the exercise station
is currently in use and another exerciser awaits the availability
of the exercise station upon completion of the exercise of the
current exerciser.
[0030] FIG. 2D is a table 260 illustrating an exemplary portion of
a personal exercise program. Referring to column 265 of the
illustrated portion of the personal exercise program, an
exerciser's workout is divided into multiple stages including a
warm up stage, a steady state stage, and a cool down stage. In each
stage, a list of target muscles, for example, is assigned for the
exerciser to target when utilizing one or more exercise machines.
The present invention uses the list of target muscles in
determining the next station for the exerciser to visit which is
more fully described in connection with the discussion of FIG.
4.
[0031] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram 300 illustrating an exemplary
message flow between station agent nodes and a management node of
the smart gym system 100 of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present
invention. The flow diagram 300 includes an exerciser 310, a
station agent node 320, a management node 330, a next station agent
node 340 for the exerciser, and reference 350 refers to all station
agent nodes except for station agent node 320.
[0032] For the following example depicted in flow diagram 300, the
first exercise machine to which the exerciser will visit for the
start of his or her work out corresponds to station agent node 320.
Station agent node 320 has been previously reserved by the
exerciser. Station agent node 320 may suitably be similar to
station agent node 150A of FIG. 1 and its corresponding exercise
machine may suitably be similar to exercise machine 145A. The
determination on which exercise station to begin a work out is more
fully described in connection with the discussion of FIG. 4.
[0033] At time t.sub.0, the exerciser inputs his or her user
identification (id) 305 to a station node 320. The exerciser may
input the user id through various means including entering the user
id utilizing an interface provided at an exercise station or by
wirelessly communicating the user id from or with a handheld
computer such as handheld computer 170. It should be noted that the
communication between the input/output 310 and the station agent
node 320 is performed through known display devices and known input
and output techniques. The station agent node 320 removes the
reservation associated with the exerciser and may optionally inform
the management node 330 by sending message 307 indicating the
removal of the exerciser's reservation. The station agent node 320
also sends a message 309 to indicate that the station is now
occupied by the exerciser. The station agent node 320 also sends a
message 311 to retrieve the exercise parameters for the exercise
machine. It should be noted that message 309 may alternatively be
sent after response 313 when the exerciser actually begins working
out on the exercise machine. In response to message 311, the
management node sends exercise parameters associated with an
exercise specific personal program for the exercise machine such as
the weight settings, the number of sets, the number of repetitions
for each set, and the like. The communication between the station
agent node and exercise machine is not shown, but may occur in a
known manner. Upon receiving the exercise parameters, the station
agent node 320 communicates an indication 315 to the exerciser to
begin executing the exercise set. The station agent node 320 may
operate to display messages to the exerciser through a display
connected to the computer upon which the station agent node runs or
may communicate with the exercise machine causing it to display
messages on a display integrated with the exercise machine.
[0034] During the exerciser's work out on the exercise machine, the
station agent node 320 sends a message 317 to request that the
management node to reserve the next station agent node on behalf of
the exerciser. By analyzing the exerciser's personal program and
the states of the station agent nodes, the management node 330
determines the next station. In the embodiment depicted in the
example illustrated in FIG. 3, the management node 330 queries the
collection of station agent nodes 350 by sending a message 319 to
each station agent node in the collection to request whether a
station supports a particular exercise in the personal program and
also requests the station's vacancy and reservation states. More
detail of aspects of how to determine which particular exercise to
support, which station agent nodes to poll and when to poll them is
provided below in connection with the discussion of FIG. 4.
[0035] Each polled station agent node responds to the management
node indicating whether it supports the particular exercise. The
management node 330 finds the next station agent node based on
anlalyzing the reply messages 321 received from the collection of
station agent nodes. Preferably, the management node will find a
next agent station node which is available and unreserved. Since
the state of the next station agent node is dependent on factors
such as the number of exercisers working out, the next agent
station may not be available and unreserved. In that case, the
management node would attempt to find a station agent node which is
occupied but unreserved. If there are no station agent nodes which
satisfy the target muscle and have the occupied and unreserved
states, the management node would select a station agent node that
is occupied and reserved as the next station agent node. In this
case, the management node would make an additional reservation for
the next station agent node.
[0036] Upon finding the next station agent node, the management
node 330 issues a message 323 to the next station agent node 340 to
mark the next station agent node 340 as being reserved. If the next
station agent node 340 has already been previously reserved, the
marked reservation is made to a reservation queue in the next
station agent node 340. The next station agent node 340
acknowledges the management node 330 with a reservation received
message 325. The management node 330 communicates to the station
agent node 320 by sending a message 327. In message 327, the next
station and any additional exercise instructions are communicated
to the station agent node 320. Station agent node 320 communicates
the next station to visit to the exerciser and any additional
instructions through input/output 310, if necessary. For example,
if the exerciser 310 is queued in a reservation queue at the next
station agent node 340, any waiting time which would typically be
calculated at the management node is communicated to the exerciser
through input/output 310 to provide him or her an estimated time
before approaching the next station. Additionally, non-equipment
exercises which address the target muscles may be suggested to the
exerciser to occupy the exerciser's waiting time.
[0037] It should be noted that the present invention contemplates
that different messages and orders of messages than those depicted
in FIG. 3 may be employed without affecting the scope of the
present invention. It should also be noted that messages may be
combined in multiple combinations and broken up into numerous
individual messages different from those depicted in FIG. 3 without
affecting the scope of the present invention.
[0038] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method 400 for
determining either a start station and a next station in accordance
with the present invention. Before method 400 begins, an exerciser
intends to begin a work out. At step 410, the method retrieves the
first stage from a personal program such as the warm up stage
illustrated in FIG. 2D. Method 400 may be iterated over multiple
times when finding all station agent nodes which define a circuit
training path. For the first iteration of the method 400 the first
stage is also referred to as the current stage in the method steps.
Associated with the first stage retrieved is a set of target
muscles, for example. Since the method is about to proceed to its
first iteration of exercises for the set of muscles, none of the
muscles in the list have been exercised yet during this workout.
Proceeding to step 420, the method retrieves the first muscle from
the set of target muscles. In this first iteration, the first
muscle may suitably be the biceps illustrated in FIG. 2D. At step
430, the method determines if there is an available and unreserved
equipment station which focuses on the biceps. If such a station is
available, in step 440, the found station is marked as reserved and
the exerciser is notified through a display. If the found station
will be the first station visited by the exerciser, in step 440,
the exerciser would be notified to begin his or her work out
immediately at the found station, ending this iteration of the
method. At step 442, the method 400 would then proceed to the
beginning state after a predetermined amount of time once the
exerciser began exercising on the current exercise machine to find
the next station agent node.
[0039] Returning to step 430, if there are no available and
unreserved equipment stations, the method proceeds to step 435. At
step 435, the method determines if there is another muscle in the
current stage that could be addressed by an available and
unreserved station. If there is another muscle in the current
stage, the method proceeds to step 425. At step 425, the method 400
retrieves the next muscle in the set of muscles in the current
stage and proceeds to step 430. Returning to step 435, if there is
no other muscle in the current stage, the method 400 proceeds to
step 445 because there are no equipment stations which are
available and unreserved for any of the muscles in the current
stage. Consequently, the method will search for unavailable
equipment stations which are unreserved and address the target
muscles in the current stage. Step 445 retrieves the first muscle
from a set of muscles in the stage to find a station which is
occupied but unreserved. It should be noted that the method 400 may
look for exercise equipment which focus on one more target muscles.
Proceeding to step 450, the method 400 determines if there is an
occupied and unreserved station which exercises the target muscle
by looking at the response messages 3231 received by the management
node 330, for example. If there is such a station, step 455
determines if there are multiple unreserved stations found. If
there are multiple unreserved stations, step 460 selects the
equipment station that will become available the soonest, marks
that equipment station as reserved, and notifies the exerciser how
long to expect to wait for the equipment station, ending this
iteration of the method.
[0040] Returning to step 455, if there are not multiple unreserved
and occupied equipment stations, the method proceeds to step 475
which marks the single found station as reserved and notifies the
exerciser how long to expect to wait for the equipment station,
ending this iteration of the method. At the end of either steps 475
or 460, the method proceeds to step 442.
[0041] Returning to step 450, if there are no unreserved stations
which exercise the target muscle, the method 400 proceeds to step
470. At step 470, the method 400 determines if there is another
target muscle in the current stage. If there is such a muscle, the
method 400 proceeds to step 465 to retrieve the next target muscle
in the set of muscles in the current stage and continues to step
450. Returning to step 470, if there are no more muscles in the
current stage being analyzed, the method 400 proceeds to step 505
in FIG. 5.
[0042] Up to step 505, the method 400 has so far not found an
equipment station which is either available or unreserved and
occupied. In other words, all the equipment stations needed by the
exerciser according to his or her exercise program are occupied and
reserved. Method steps 505, 530, 535, and 540 attempt to find the
best equipment station to enque an additional reservation to an
equipment station which is currently occupied and reserved.
[0043] At step 505, the method 400 retrieves the first muscle from
a set of muscles in the current stage and proceeds to step 530. At
step 530, the method 400 determines if there are multiple reserved
equipment stations. If there are multiple reserved stations found,
the method 400 proceeds to step 535 where it selects the soonest
available equipment station, enques an extra reservation at that
equipment station, and notifies the exerciser to wait a
predetermined time before going to the soonest available station.
This iteration of the method ends. The method 400 then proceeds to
step 442 which returns to the beginning of the method to find a
next station after a predetermined time.
[0044] Returning to step 530, if there is only one reserved
equipment station which is found, the method proceeds to step 540.
At step 540, the method 400 enques an extra reservation to the
found equipment station and notifies the exerciser to wait a
predetermined time before going to the found station, ending this
iteration of the method. The present invention may suggest
non-equipment oriented exercises for the exerciser to do during the
waiting period before the next station node becomes available. The
method proceeds to step 442 which returns to the beginning of the
method to find the next station after a predetermined time.
[0045] Although the examples depicted above specify target muscles
to be associated with a stage of a personal exercise program, other
items such as specific exercises, exercise equipment, target
muscles, exercise classifications such as aerobic and anaerobic or
any combination of these items may be specified as a personal
criteria in a particular workout stage. For example, a warm up
stage of a personal exercise program may include an aerobic
classification. An elliptical machine would be a possible exercise
machine that may be suitably associated with the next station agent
node when matching the aerobic classification in the personal
exercise program.
[0046] While the present invention has been disclosed in the
context of various aspects of presently preferred embodiments, it
will be recognized that the invention may be suitably applied to
other environments consistent with the claims which follow. Such
environments include health spas, rehabilitation hospitals,
physical therapy gyms, and any other suitable environment where
exercise equipment is used by a number of exercisers.
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