U.S. patent application number 14/045563 was filed with the patent office on 2014-06-26 for biometric monitoring device with wrist-motion triggered display.
The applicant listed for this patent is Fitbit, Inc.. Invention is credited to Andrew Cole Axley, Christine Boomer Brumback, David Wayne Knight, James Park, Shelten Gee Jao Yuen.
Application Number | 20140176422 14/045563 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50974003 |
Filed Date | 2014-06-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140176422 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Brumback; Christine Boomer ;
et al. |
June 26, 2014 |
BIOMETRIC MONITORING DEVICE WITH WRIST-MOTION TRIGGERED DISPLAY
Abstract
A biometric monitoring device with a display is provided. The
display may, in response to receiving page advance requests from a
user, advance through a plurality of different data display pages,
at least some of which show aspects of biometric data recorded by
the device. The biometric monitoring device may also, based on the
biometric data, modify the sequential display order of the data
display pages. In some implementations, a biometric monitoring
device integrated into a wristband may be configured to turn a
display of the biometric monitoring device on and display the time
in response to biometric sensors of the biometric monitoring device
detecting motion of the wearer's forearm consistent with moving the
forearm into a watch-viewing position.
Inventors: |
Brumback; Christine Boomer;
(San Francisco, CA) ; Knight; David Wayne; (San
Francisco, CA) ; Park; James; (Berkeley, CA) ;
Axley; Andrew Cole; (Oakland, CA) ; Yuen; Shelten Gee
Jao; (Berkeley, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Fitbit, Inc. |
San Francisco |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
50974003 |
Appl. No.: |
14/045563 |
Filed: |
October 3, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14029763 |
Sep 17, 2013 |
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14045563 |
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61789305 |
Mar 15, 2013 |
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61746101 |
Dec 26, 2012 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
345/156 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/015 20130101;
A61B 5/7445 20130101; G06F 1/1694 20130101; G06F 3/01 20130101;
G06F 3/0487 20130101; A61B 5/0002 20130101; Y02D 10/00 20180101;
A63B 24/00 20130101; A61B 5/02055 20130101; G16H 40/67 20180101;
A61B 5/0015 20130101; A61B 5/681 20130101; G06F 1/3265 20130101;
G06F 3/0346 20130101; G06F 2200/1637 20130101; G16H 40/63 20180101;
G06F 3/0482 20130101; A61B 5/7475 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
345/156 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/01 20060101
G06F003/01 |
Claims
1. An apparatus comprising: a wristband configured to be worn on a
person's forearm; one or more biometric sensors; a display; at
least one processor; and a memory, wherein: the memory, the at
least one processor, the one or more biometric sensors, and the
display are communicatively connected with one another, and the
memory stores computer-executable instructions for controlling the
at least one processor to: a) receive biometric data from the one
or more biometric sensors, b) determine that the biometric data
indicates that the apparatus has experienced movement consistent
with movements of a person's forearm taken to bring a watch worn on
the person's forearm into a position allowing the time on the watch
to be read by the person, and c) cause, responsive to (b), the
display to display a predetermined data display page indicating a
measurement obtained or derived from the biometric data or an
internal clock of the at least one processor.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the measurement is selected
from the group of measurements consisting of: time of day, stair
flights climbed, stairs climbed, steps taken, distance traveled in
miles or kilometers, and calories burned.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory further stores
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to: cause the display to turn on from an off state
responsive to (b).
4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a backlight and
wherein the memory further stores computer-executable instructions
for controlling the at least one processor to: cause the backlight
to turn on from an off state responsive to (b).
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the measurement is the time of
day.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the biometric data indicates
that the apparatus has experienced movement corresponding with
motion experienced by the distal end of the person's forearm with
flexure of the forearm about the forearm's elbow joint.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the biometric data indicates
that the apparatus has experienced movement corresponding with
motion experienced by the distal end of the person's forearm
through movement of the person's forearm from a position
substantially aligned with the sagittal and frontal planes of the
person to a position substantially aligned with the transverse and
frontal planes of the person.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the biometric data indicates
that the apparatus has experienced movement corresponding with
motion experienced by the distal end of the person's forearm
through adduction of the person's wrist joint with respect to the
mid-sagittal plane of the person and medial rotation of the hand
connected to the wrist joint.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the biometric data indicates
that the apparatus has experienced movement corresponding with
motion of the distal end of the person's forearm due to rotational
motion of the person's wrist joint.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the biometric data indicates
that the apparatus has experienced movement corresponding with
motion of the distal end of the person's forearm due to rotational
motion of the person's forearm.
11. An apparatus comprising: a wristband configured to be worn on a
person's forearm, the wristband having a wrist axis that is
substantially aligned with the person's forearm when the wristband
is worn on the person's forearm; one or more biometric sensors; a
display; at least one processor; and a memory, wherein: the memory,
the at least one processor, the one or more biometric sensors, and
the display are communicatively connected with one another, and the
memory stores computer-executable instructions for controlling the
at least one processor to: a) receive biometric data from the one
or more biometric sensors, b) determine that the biometric data
indicates that the apparatus has experienced rotation about at
least one axis, and c) cause, responsive to (b), the display to
display a predetermined data display page indicating a measurement
obtained or derived from the biometric data or an internal clock of
the at least one processor.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the measurement is selected
from the group of measurements consisting of: time of day, stair
flights climbed, stairs climbed, steps taken, distance traveled in
miles or kilometers, and calories burned.
13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the measurement is the time
of day.
14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the memory further stores
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to: cause the display to turn on from an off state
responsive to (b).
15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the memory further stores
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to: cause the display to turn on from an off state
responsive to (b).
16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the memory further stores
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to: determine that the biometric data indicates that the
apparatus has experienced rotation about the at least one axis when
the biometric data indicates that the apparatus has experienced
rotation about the wrist axis.
17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the memory further stores
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to: determine that the biometric data indicates that the
apparatus has experienced rotation about the at least one axis when
the biometric data indicates that the apparatus has experienced
rotation about the wrist axis and at least one additional axis.
18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the memory further stores
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to: determine that the biometric data indicates that the
apparatus has experienced rotation about the at least one axis when
the biometric data indicates that the apparatus has experienced
rotation about the wrist axis within a predetermined range of
rotational rates through a substantially continuous predetermined
range of angular displacement.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the predetermined range of
rotational rates includes at least one rotational rate selected
from the group consisting of: at least 90.degree. per second, at
least 60.degree. per second, at least 45.degree. per second, and at
least 30.degree. per second and the range of angular displacement
includes at least one angular displacement selected from the group
consisting of: at least 90.degree., at least 60.degree., at least
45.degree., and at least 30.degree..
20. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the one or more biometric
sensors includes at least one sensor selected from the group
consisting of: single-axis or multi-axis gyroscopes, single-axis or
multi-axis accelerometers, magnetometers, electromagnetic field
sensors, laser rangefinder sensors, Doppler radar sensors, and
altimeter sensors and the biometric data indicating that the
apparatus has experienced rotation about at least one axis is
obtained at least in part from the at least one sensor.
21. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the one or more biometric
sensors includes a single-axis or multi-axis gyroscope and the
biometric data indicating that the apparatus has experienced
rotation about at least one axis is obtained at least in part from
the single-axis or multi-axis gyroscope.
22. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the one or more biometric
sensors includes a single-axis or multi-axis accelerometer and the
biometric data indicating that the apparatus has experienced
rotation about at least one axis is obtained at least in part from
the single-axis or multi-axis accelerometer.
23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the memory stores
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to perform (b) and (c) using biometric data exclusively
from the single-axis or multi-axis accelerometer.
24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the memory stores
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to perform (b) and (c) using biometric data exclusively
from the accelerometer.
25. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the biometric data indicates
that the apparatus has transitioned to an orientation with the
display facing in a direction substantially aligned with a
direction of planetary gravitational acceleration from an
orientation with the display facing in a direction substantially
misaligned with the direction of planetary gravitational
acceleration.
26. A method comprising: detecting, using one or more biometric
sensors connected with a wristband, rotation of the wristband about
at least one axis; determining that the rotation of the wristband
about the at least one axis meets a first threshold; and causing,
responsive to the determining, a display connected with the
wristband to be transitioned between a state in which the display
does not show a time-of-day to a state in which the display shows a
time-of-day.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority benefit as a continuation
under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.120 to U.S. patent application Ser. No.
14/029,763, filed Sep. 17, 2013, titled "DEVICE STATE DEPENDENT
USER INTERFACE MANAGEMENT," and also claims priority benefit under
35 U.S.C. .sctn.119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No.
61/746,101, filed Dec. 26, 2012, titled "CONTEXT DEPENDENT USER
INTERFACE," and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.
61/789,305, filed Mar. 15, 2013, titled "DEVICE STATE DEPENDENT
USER INTERFACE MANAGEMENT," all of which are hereby incorporated by
reference in their entireties.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Recent consumer interest in personal health has led to a
variety of personal health monitoring devices being offered on the
market. Such devices, until recently, tended to be complicated to
use and were typically designed for use with one activity, e.g.,
bicycle trip computers.
[0003] Recent advances in sensor, electronics, and power source
miniaturization have allowed the size of personal health monitoring
devices, also referred to herein as "biometric tracking" or
"biometric monitoring" devices, to be offered in extremely small
sizes that were previously impractical. For example, the Fitbit
Ultra is a biometric monitoring device that is approximately 2''
long, 0.75'' wide, and 0.5'' deep; it has a pixelated display,
battery, sensors, wireless communications capability, power source,
and interface button, as well as an integrated clip for attaching
the device to a pocket or other portion of clothing, packaged
within this small volume.
SUMMARY
[0004] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter
described in this specification are set forth in the accompanying
drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and
advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings,
and the claims. Note that the relative dimensions of the following
figures may not be drawn to scale unless specifically indicated as
being scaled drawings.
[0005] In some implementations, an apparatus is provided. The
apparatus may include a wristband configured to be worn on a
person's forearm, one or more biometric sensors, a display, at
least one processor, and a memory. The memory, the at least one
processor, the one or more biometric sensors, and the display may
be communicatively connected with one another and the memory may
store computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least
one processor to a) receive biometric data from the one or more
biometric sensors, b) determine that the biometric data indicates
that the apparatus has experienced movement consistent with
movements of a person's forearm taken to bring a watch worn on the
person's forearm into a position allowing the time on the watch to
be read by the person, and c) cause, responsive to (b), the display
to display a predetermined data display page indicating a
measurement obtained or derived from the biometric data or an
internal clock of the at least one processor.
[0006] In some implementations, the measurement may be the time of
day, stair flights climbed, stairs climbed, steps taken, distance
traveled in miles or kilometers, or calories burned.
[0007] In some implementations, the memory may further store
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to cause the display to turn on from an off state
responsive to (b).
[0008] In some implementations, the apparatus may also include a
backlight and the memory may further store computer-executable
instructions for controlling the at least one processor to cause
the backlight to turn on from an off state responsive to (b).
[0009] In some implementations, the measurement may be the time of
day.
[0010] In some implementations, the biometric data may indicate
that the apparatus has experienced movement corresponding with
motion experienced by the distal end of the person's forearm with
flexure of the forearm about the forearm's elbow joint.
[0011] In some implementations, the biometric data may indicate
that the apparatus has experienced movement corresponding with
motion experienced by the distal end of the person's forearm
through movement of the person's forearm from a position
substantially aligned with the sagittal and frontal planes of the
person to a position substantially aligned with the transverse and
frontal planes of the person.
[0012] In some implementations, the biometric data may indicate
that the apparatus has experienced movement corresponding with
motion experienced by the distal end of the person's forearm
through adduction of the person's wrist joint with respect to the
mid-sagittal plane of the person and medial rotation of the hand
connected to the wrist joint.
[0013] In some implementations, the biometric data may indicate
that the apparatus has experienced movement corresponding with
motion of the distal end of the person's forearm due to rotational
motion of the person's wrist joint.
[0014] In some implementations, the biometric data may indicate
that the apparatus has experienced movement corresponding with
motion of the distal end of the person's forearm due to rotational
motion of the person's forearm.
[0015] In some implementations, an apparatus may be provided. The
apparatus may include a wristband configured to be worn on a
person's forearm, the wristband having a wrist axis that is
substantially aligned with the person's forearm when the wristband
is worn on the person's forearm. The apparatus may also include one
or more biometric sensors, a display, at least one processor, and a
memory. The memory, the at least one processor, the one or more
biometric sensors, and the display may be communicatively connected
with one another and the memory may store computer-executable
instructions for controlling the at least one processor to a)
receive biometric data from the one or more biometric sensors, b)
determine that the biometric data indicates that the apparatus has
experienced rotation about at least one axis, and c) cause,
responsive to (b), the display to display a data display page
including a time-of-day clock.
[0016] In some implementations, the memory may further store
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to cause the display to turn on from an off state
responsive to (b).
[0017] In some implementations, the memory may further store
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to determine that the biometric data indicates that the
apparatus has experienced rotation about the at least one axis when
the biometric data indicates that the apparatus has experienced
rotation about the wrist axis.
[0018] In some implementations, the memory may further store
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to determine that the biometric data indicates that the
apparatus has experienced rotation about the at least one axis when
the biometric data indicates that the apparatus has experienced
rotation about the wrist axis and at least one additional axis.
[0019] In some implementations, the memory may further store
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to determine that the biometric data indicates that the
apparatus has experienced rotation about the at least one axis when
the biometric data indicates that the apparatus has experienced
rotation about the wrist axis within a predetermined range of
rotational rates through a substantially continuous predetermined
range of angular displacement.
[0020] In some such implementations, the predetermined range of
rotational rates may include at least one rotational rate selected
from the group consisting of: at least 90.degree. per second, at
least 60.degree. per second, at least 45.degree. per second, and at
least 30.degree. per second and the range of angular displacement
includes at least one angular displacement selected from the group
consisting of: at least 90.degree., at least 60.degree., at least
45.degree., and at least 30.degree..
[0021] In some implementations, the one or more biometric sensors
may include at least one sensor such as a single-axis or multi-axis
gyroscope, a single-axis or multi-axis accelerometer, a
magnetometer, an electromagnetic field sensor, a laser rangefinder
sensor, a Doppler radar sensor, or an altimeter sensor and the
biometric data indicating that the apparatus has experienced
rotation about at least one axis may be obtained at least in part
from the at least one sensor.
[0022] In some implementations, the one or more biometric sensors
may include a single-axis or multi-axis gyroscope and the biometric
data may indicate that the apparatus has experienced rotation about
at least one axis is obtained at least in part from the single-axis
or multi-axis gyroscope.
[0023] In some implementations, the one or more biometric sensors
may include a single-axis or multi-axis accelerometer and the
biometric data indicating that the apparatus has experienced
rotation about at least one axis may be obtained at least in part
from the single-axis or multi-axis accelerometer.
[0024] In some implementations, the memory may store
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to perform (b) and (c) using biometric data exclusively
from the single-axis or multi-axis accelerometer.
[0025] In some implementations, the memory may store
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to perform (b) and (c) using biometric data exclusively
from the accelerometer.
[0026] In some implementations, the biometric data may indicate
that the apparatus has transitioned to an orientation with the
display facing in a direction substantially aligned with a
direction of planetary gravitational acceleration from an
orientation with the display facing in a direction substantially
misaligned with the direction of planetary gravitational
acceleration.
[0027] In some implementations, a method may be provided. The
method may include detecting, using one or more biometric sensors
connected with a wristband, rotation of the wristband about at
least one axis; determining that the rotation of the wristband
about the at least one axis meets a first threshold; and causing,
responsive to the determining, a display connected with the
wristband to be transitioned between a state in which the display
does not show a time-of-day to a state in which the display shows a
time-of-day.
[0028] In some implementations, an apparatus may be provided. The
apparatus may include one or more biometric sensors, a display, at
least one processor, and a memory. The memory, the at least one
processor, the one or more biometric sensors, and the display may
be communicatively connected with one another and the memory may
store computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least
one processor to: determine a sequential display order for a
plurality of data display pages; receive one or more page advance
requests; cause, for each received page advance request, the
display to advance to the data display page that is next in the
sequential display order with respect to the data display page that
is displayed on the display prior to the advance; receive biometric
data from the one or more biometric sensors; determine that the
biometric data indicates, at least in part, a first contextual or
environmental state; and modify the sequential display order of the
data display pages based on the determination that the biometric
data indicates the first contextual or environmental state to
produce a first sequential display order.
[0029] In some implementations of the apparatus, when the data
display page that is displayed on the display prior to the advance
is the last data display page in the sequential display order, the
data display page that is first in the sequential display order may
be treated as the data display page that is next in the sequential
display order.
[0030] In some implementations of the apparatus, the sequential
display order may reverse after the data display page that is
displayed on the display prior to the advance is the last data
display page in the sequential display order.
[0031] In some implementations of the apparatus, the memory may
further store computer-executable instructions for controlling the
at least one processor to modify the sequential display order of
the data display pages based on the determination that the
biometric data indicates the first contextual or environmental
state in conjunction with a determination that a mode of the
apparatus is active to produce the first sequential display
order.
[0032] In some implementations of the apparatus, the first
contextual or environmental state may be associated with activities
selected from the group consisting of walking, running, stair
climbing, bicycling, swimming, resting, working, being at home,
being in transit in a car or other powered vehicle, driving, and
being in a meeting.
[0033] In some implementations of the apparatus, the page advance
requests may be generated responsive to data collected from the one
or more biometric sensors.
[0034] In some implementations of the apparatus, the apparatus may
further include a page advance input separate from the one or more
biometric sensors and the memory, the at least one processor, the
one or more biometric sensors, the page advance input, and the
display may be communicatively connected with one another. The
memory and/or at least one processor may also be configured to
receive the one or more page advance requests responsive to
corresponding one or more activations of the page advance input. In
some such implementations, the page advance input may be a
button.
[0035] In some further such implementations, the apparatus may be
free of buttons except for the page advance input and the one or
more biometric sensors and the page advance input may be the only
mechanisms in the apparatus that are capable of detecting tactile
or audio input to the apparatus.
[0036] In some implementations of the apparatus, the memory may
further store computer-executable instructions for controlling the
at least one processor to determine that the biometric data
indicates, at least in part, a second contextual or environmental
state different from the first contextual or environmental state,
and to modify the sequential display order of the data display
pages based on the determination that the biometric data indicates
the second contextual or environmental state to produce a second
sequential display order, wherein the first sequential display
order and the second sequential display order are different.
[0037] In some implementations of the apparatus, the memory may
further store computer-executable instructions for controlling the
at least one processor to modify the sequential display order of
the data display pages by adding or removing a data display page
from the plurality of data display pages based on the determination
that the biometric data indicates the first contextual or
environmental state.
[0038] In some implementations of the apparatus, the memory may
further store computer-executable instructions for controlling the
at least one processor to: determine that the first contextual or
environmental state is associated with a first user-specified
sequential display order and to modify the sequential display order
of the data display pages to correspond to the first user-specified
sequential display order to produce the first sequential display
order.
[0039] In some such implementations of the apparatus, the apparatus
may also include a communications interface and the memory, the at
least one processor, the one or more biometric sensors, the page
advance input, the display, and the communications interface may be
communicatively connected with one another. The memory and/or at
least one processor may be configured to receive data indicating
the user-specific sequential display order via the communications
interface and from a device external to the apparatus.
[0040] In some implementations of the apparatus, the memory may
further store computer-executable instructions for controlling the
at least one processor to determine that at least one of the data
display pages in the plurality of data display pages has a
user-specified priority and modify the sequential display order of
the data display pages based on the determination that the
biometric data indicates the first contextual or environmental
state and the user-specified priority of the at least one data
display page to produce a first sequential display order.
[0041] In some implementations of the apparatus, the memory may
further store computer-executable instructions for controlling the
at least one processor to determine that the display is turned off
when a page advance request is received, determine the data display
page displayed on the display when the display was turned off,
cause the display to turn on responsive to the page advance
request, and modify the sequential display order such that the data
display page that was displayed on the display when the display was
turned off is displayed on the display after the display is turned
on again and responsive to the page advance request.
[0042] In some implementations of the apparatus, the memory may
further store computer-executable instructions for controlling the
at least one processor to determine that the display is turned off
when a page advance request is received, determine the data display
page displayed on the display when the display was turned off,
cause the display to turn on again, modify the sequential display
order such that at least one interim data display page different
from the data display page that was displayed on the display when
the display was turned off is the first data display page or pages
displayed on the display after the display is turned on again and
responsive to the page advance request, and modify the sequential
display order such that the data display page that was displayed on
the display when the display was turned off is the next data
display page that is displayed on the display after the at least
one interim data display page is displayed.
[0043] In some such implementations of the apparatus, the at least
one interim data display page may include a data display page
showing a time-of-day clock.
[0044] In some such implementations of the apparatus, the at least
one interim data display page may include a data display page such
as a data display page showing a low battery indicator, a data
display page showing a low memory indicator, or a data display page
showing a sync-in-progress indicator.
[0045] In some such implementations of the apparatus, the at least
one interim data display page may include a data display page
showing user achievement indicator that indicates that one or more
quantities based on data provided by the one or more biometric
sensors have exceeded a pre-defined threshold, the user achievement
indicator in addition to displaying the one or more quantities.
[0046] In some such implementations of the apparatus, the apparatus
may further include a communications interface configured to
communicate with a device external to the apparatus and the memory,
the at least one processor, the one or more biometric sensors, the
display, and the communications interface may be communicatively
connected with one another and the memory may further store
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to receive a message from the device external to the
apparatus via the communications interface, and display a data
display page on the display indicating at least some content
associated with the message as an interim data display page of the
at least one interim data page.
[0047] In some further such implementations of the apparatus, the
message may be a text message, tweet, social networking website
comment, or email.
[0048] In some further such implementations of the apparatus, the
message may include data indicating a user achievement indicator
that indicates that one or more quantities based on data provided
by another one or more biometric sensors external to the apparatus
have exceeded a pre-defined threshold.
[0049] In some such implementations of the apparatus, the plurality
of data display pages may include a first subset of at least one
data display page, and the memory may further store
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to cause the at least one data display page of the first
subset to be displayed on the display after the display is turned
on again regardless of whether the data display page that was
displayed on the display when the display was turned off is in the
first subset.
[0050] In some implementations of the apparatus, at least one of
the data display pages in the plurality of data display pages may
have a plurality of data display subpages, and the memory may
further store computer-executable instructions for controlling the
at least one processor to determine a sequential subpage display
order for the plurality of data display subpages, receive one or
more subpage advance requests, cause, for each received subpage
advance request received when the data display subpage having the
plurality of data display subpages is displayed, the display to
advance to the data display subpage that is next in the sequential
subpage display order with respect to the data display subpage that
is displayed on the display prior to the advance, wherein when the
data display subpage that is displayed on the display prior to the
advance is the last data display subpage in the sequential subpage
display order, the data display subpage that is first in the
sequential subpage display order is treated as the data display
subpage that is next in the sequential subpage display order,
wherein the data display page having the data display subpage that
is displayed on the display is represented by the data display
subpage that is displayed on the display.
[0051] In some such implementations of the apparatus, each data
display subpage of the plurality of data display subpages may
present data associated with the data page display having the data
display subpages in different units, different formats, or a
combination thereof.
[0052] In some implementation, a method may be provided. The method
may include determining, by one or more processors of a biometric
tracking device, a sequential display order for a plurality of data
display pages; receiving, by the one or more processors, one or
more page advance requests; causing, for each received page advance
request, a display of the biometric tracking device to advance to
the data display page that is next in the sequential display order
with respect to the data display page that is displayed on the
display prior to the advance; receiving biometric data from one or
more biometric sensors in communication with the biometric tracking
device; determining, by the one or more processors, that the
biometric data indicates, at least in part, a first contextual or
environmental state; and modifying, by the one or more processors,
the sequential display order of the data display pages to produce a
first sequential display order based on the determination that the
biometric data indicates the first contextual or environmental
state.
[0053] In some implementations of the method, when the data display
page that is displayed on the display prior to the advance is the
last data display page in the sequential display order, the data
display page that is first in the sequential display order may be
treated as the data display page that is next in the sequential
display order.
[0054] In some such implementations of the method, the sequential
display order may reverse when the data display page that is
displayed on the display prior to the advance is the last data
display page in the sequential display order.
[0055] In some such implementations of the method, the modifying of
the sequential display order of the data display pages to produce
the first sequential display order may be based on the
determination that the biometric data indicates the first
contextual or environmental state in conjunction with a
determination that a mode of the apparatus is active.
[0056] In some implementations, an apparatus may be provided that
includes a wristband, one or more biometric sensors, a display, at
least one processor, and a memory. The memory, the at least one
processor, the one or more biometric sensors, and the display may
be communicatively connected with one another. The wristband, the
one or more biometric sensors, the display, the at least one
processor, and the memory may form a biometric monitoring device
configured to be worn on a person's forearm. The memory may store
computer-executable instructions for controlling the at least one
processor to receive biometric data from the one or more biometric
sensors, display aspects of the biometric data on the display,
determine that the biometric data indicates, at least in part, a
first contextual or environmental state, and change the content
displayed on the display according to the first contextual or
environmental state such that the content includes biometric data
that has been predetermined to be pertinent to the first contextual
or environmental state.
[0057] In some implementations of the apparatus, the first
contextual or environmental state may be an ambulatory motion
state. In some such implementations, the ambulatory motion state
may be a walking state, a running state, a hiking state, an
interval training state, or a treadmill state, and the content
displayed on the display may include one or more data display pages
including data such as step count since the first contextual or
environmental state was determined, running pace, miles per hour,
kilometers per hour, distance run since the first contextual or
environmental state was determined, stairs climbed since the first
contextual or environmental state was determined, elevation change
since the first contextual or environmental state was determined,
current elevation, time elapsed since the first contextual or
environmental state was determined, current heart rate, current
heart rate zone, calories burned, calories burned since the first
contextual or environmental state was determined, or combinations
thereof.
[0058] In some implementations of the apparatus, the ambulatory
motion state may be a running state. In some such implementations,
the first contextual or environmental state may be determined based
on the biometric data indicating a step rate above a first
threshold.
[0059] In some implementations of the apparatus, the first
contextual or environmental state may be determined based on the
biometric data indicating a speed above 4 miles per hour and below
20 miles per hour coupled with the biometric data indicating that
the person is engaged in ambulatory motion.
[0060] In some implementations of the apparatus, the ambulatory
motion state may be a walking state. In some such implementations
of the apparatus, the first contextual or environmental state may
be determined based on the biometric data indicating a non-zero
step rate below a first threshold. In some additional or
alternative such implementations, the first contextual or
environmental state may be determined based on the biometric data
indicating a non-zero speed of less than 4 miles per hour coupled
with the biometric data indicating that the person is engaged in
ambulatory motion.
[0061] In some implementations of the apparatus, the first
contextual or environmental state may be a water sports state. In
some such implementations, the water sports state may be an indoor
swimming state or an outdoor swimming state, and the content
displayed on the display includes one or more data display pages
including data such as laps since the first contextual or
environmental state was determined, current stroke type, stroke
count of current stroke type, lap time, swimming efficiency,
current heart rate, current heart rate zone, calories burned,
calories burned since the first contextual or environmental state
was determined, or combinations thereof.
[0062] In some implementations of the apparatus, the first
contextual or environmental state may be an aerobic exercise
machine state. In some such implementations, the aerobic exercise
machine state may be an elliptical machine state, a stair climbing
machine state, a stationary bicycle state, a spinning machine
state, or a rowing machine state, and the content displayed on the
display may include one or more data display pages including data
such as duration since the first contextual or environmental state
was determined, current heart rate, current heart rate zone,
calories burned, calories burned since the first contextual or
environmental state was determined, or combinations thereof.
[0063] In some implementations of the apparatus, the first
contextual or environmental state may be an aerobic exercise state.
In some such implementations of the apparatus, the aerobic exercise
state may be a Zumba.TM. state, an aerobic dance state, a kick
boxing state, or a jump rope state, and the content displayed on
the display may include one or more data display pages including
data such as duration since the first contextual or environmental
state was determined, current heart rate, current heart rate zone,
calories burned, calories burned since the first contextual or
environmental state was determined, or combinations thereof.
[0064] In some implementations of the apparatus, the first
contextual or environmental state may be a resistance training
state. In some such implementations of the apparatus, the
resistance training state may be a bicep curl state, a benchpress
state, a military press state, a pull-ups state, a push-ups state,
a set-ups state, or a squats state, and the content displayed on
the display may include one or more data display pages including
data such as number of repetitions since the first contextual or
environmental state was determined, number of sets since the first
contextual or environmental state was determined, time between
sets, current heart rate, current heart rate zone, calories burned,
calories burned since the first contextual or environmental state
was determined, lifting form, or combinations thereof.
[0065] In some implementations of the apparatus, the first
contextual or environmental state may be a rest state. In some such
implementations of the apparatus, the rest state may be a sleeping
state, a reclining state, a sitting state, an office work state, a
reading state, a watching-TV state, or a leisure state, and the
content displayed on the display may include one or more data
display pages including data such as sleep quality, number of times
awoken, sleep stage, duration since the first contextual or
environmental state was determined, or combinations thereof.
[0066] In some such implementations of the apparatus, the rest
state may be a sleep state and the content displayed on the display
may include one or more data display pages including data such as
quiescent sleep time, restless sleep time, ambulatory sleep time,
overall time elapsed since the first contextual or environmental
state was determined, or combinations thereof. In some such
implementations of the apparatus, the sleep state may be determined
based on the biometric data indicating inactivity over a first time
period. In some alternative or additional such implementations, the
sleep state may be determined based on the biometric data
indicating inactivity over a first time period including time
between the localized time of 9:00 PM and 6:00 AM.
[0067] These and other implementations are described in further
detail with reference to the Figures and the detailed description
below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0068] The various implementations disclosed herein are illustrated
by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of
the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals may
refer to similar elements.
[0069] FIG. 1 depicts a generalized schematic of an example
computing device that may be used to implement a portable biometric
monitoring device or other device with which the various operations
described herein may be executed.
[0070] FIG. 2 depicts an example of a biometric monitoring device
having a button and a display.
[0071] FIG. 3 depicts an example of a wrist-mounted biometric
monitoring device having a button, a display, and a band to secure
the biometric monitoring device to a user's forearm.
[0072] FIG. 4 depicts another example of a wrist-mounted biometric
monitoring device having a button, a display, and a band to secure
the biometric monitoring device to a user's forearm.
[0073] FIG. 5 depicts a diagram showing a sequential display order
for a biometric monitoring device that cycles through three
separate data display pages.
[0074] FIG. 6 depicts an example sequential display order for a
biometric monitoring device that is operating in a "default" device
state (referred to in FIG. 6 as "State A").
[0075] FIG. 7 depicts an example sequential display order for the
biometric monitoring device of FIG. 6 but operating in a device
state (referred to in FIG. 7 as "State B") that has been modified
from the "default" device state to account for a "timer" mode that
is active on the biometric monitoring device.
[0076] FIG. 8 depicts an example sequential display order for the
biometric monitoring device of FIG. 6 but operating in a device
state (referred to in FIG. 8 as "State C") that has been modified
from the "default" device state to account for a "low battery" mode
that is active on the biometric monitoring device.
[0077] FIG. 9 depicts a sequential display order for a device state
(referred to in FIG. 9 as "State D") of an example biometric
monitoring device.
[0078] FIG. 10 depicts data display pages and associated data
display subpages for an example biometric monitoring device.
[0079] FIG. 11 further depicts the data display pages and
associated data display subpages for the example biometric
monitoring device of FIG. 10.
[0080] FIG. 12 also further depicts the data display pages and
associated data display subpages for the example biometric
monitoring device of FIG. 10.
[0081] FIGS. 13A through 13F depict various data display pages that
may be displayed when an alarm mode is active on a biometric
monitoring device.
[0082] FIG. 14 depicts a flow diagram for a technique that may be
used to cause a biometric monitoring device to function as a watch
responsive to data received from biometric sensors within the
biometric monitoring device.
[0083] FIG. 15 depicts a person's arm, forearm, and hand with a
biometric monitoring device worn on the forearm.
[0084] FIG. 16 depicts a flow diagram for a further technique that
may be used to cause a biometric monitoring device to function as a
watch responsive to data received from biometric sensors within the
biometric monitoring device.
[0085] FIG. 17 depicts a flow diagram for yet another technique
that may be used to cause a biometric monitoring device to function
as a watch responsive to data received from biometric sensors
within the biometric monitoring device.
[0086] FIG. 18 depicts a flow diagram of a technique for modifying
the sequential display order of an example biometric monitoring
device.
[0087] FIG. 19 depicts a flow diagram of a further technique for
modifying the sequential display order of an example biometric
monitoring device.
[0088] FIG. 20 depicts a flow diagram of another technique for
modifying the sequential display order of an example biometric
monitoring device.
[0089] FIG. 21 depicts a flow diagram of an additional technique
for modifying the sequential display order of an example biometric
monitoring device.
[0090] FIGS. 22A and 22B provide examples of sequential display
orders.
[0091] FIG. 23 depicts a flow diagram of a technique for navigating
data display pages and data display subpages.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0092] The present disclosure relates to wearable biometric
monitoring devices (also referred to herein as "biometric tracking
devices" or simply as "devices") such as those, for example,
illustrated schematically in FIG. 1. In some implementations, a
biometric monitoring device may be designed such that it may be
inserted into, and removed from, a plurality of compatible
cases/housings/holders, e.g., a wristband that may be worn on a
person's forearm or a belt clip case that may be attached to a
person's clothing. Generally speaking, a biometric monitoring
device or biometric tracking device combined with a case or some
other means allowing it to be worn or easily carried by a person
may be referred to herein as a "biometric monitoring system" or
"biometric tracking system."
[0093] As used herein, the term "wristband" may refer to a band
that is designed to fully or partially encircle a person's forearm
near the wrist joint. The band may be continuous, e.g., without any
breaks (it may stretch to fit over a person's hand or have an
expanding portion similar to a dress watchband), or may be
discontinuous, e.g., having a clasp or other connection allowing
the band to be closed similar to a watchband or may be simply open,
e.g., having a C-shape that clasps the wearer's wrist.
[0094] FIG. 1 depicts a generalized schematic of an example
portable biometric monitoring device, also simply referred to
herein as "biometric monitoring device," or other device with which
the various operations described herein may be executed. The
portable biometric monitoring device 102 may include a processing
unit 106 having one or more processors, a memory 108, an operator
interface 104, one or more biometric sensors 110, and input/output
112. The processing unit 106, the memory 108, the operator
interface 104, the one or more biometric sensors 110, and the
input/output interface 112 may be communicatively connected via
communications path(s) 114 (it is to be understood that some of
these components may also be connected with one another
indirectly).
[0095] The portable biometric monitoring device may collect one or
more types of biometric data, e.g., data pertaining to physical
characteristics of the human body (such as heartbeat, perspiration
levels, etc.) and/or data relating to the physical interaction of
that body with the environment (such as accelerometer readings,
gyroscope readings, etc.), from the one or more biometric sensors
110 and/or external devices (such as an external heart rate
monitor, e.g., a chest-strap heart rate monitor) and may then store
such information for later use, e.g., for communication to another
device via the I/O interface 112, e.g., a smartphone or to a server
over a wide-area network such as the Internet. The processing unit
106 may also perform an analysis on the stored data and may
initiate various actions depending on the analysis. For example,
the processing unit 106 may determine that the data stored in the
memory 108 indicates that a goal threshold has been reached and may
then display content on a display of the portable biometric
monitoring device celebrating the achievement of the goal. The
display may be part of the operator interface 104 (as may be a
button or other control, not pictured, that may be used to control
a functional aspect of the portable biometric monitoring
device).
[0096] In general, biometric monitoring devices may incorporate one
or more types of user interfaces including but not limited to
visual, auditory, touch/vibration, or combinations thereof. The
biometric monitoring device may, for example, display information
relating to one or more of the data types available and/or being
tracked by the biometric monitoring device through, for example, a
graphical display or through the intensity and/or color of one or
more LEDs. The user interface may also be used to display data from
other devices or internet sources. The device may also provide
haptic feedback through, for instance, the vibration of a motor or
a change in texture or shape of the device. In some
implementations, the biometric sensors themselves may be used as
part of the user interface, e.g., accelerometer sensors may be used
to detect when a person taps the housing of the biometric
monitoring unit with a finger or other object and may then
interpret such data as a user input for the purposes of controlling
the biometric monitoring device. For example, double-tapping the
housing of the biometric monitoring device may be recognized by the
biometric monitoring device as a user input that will cause the
display of the biometric monitoring device to turn on from an off
state or that will cause the biometric monitoring device to
transition between different monitoring states, e.g., from a state
where the biometric monitoring device may interpret data according
to rules established for an "active" person to a state where the
biometric monitoring device may interpret data according to rules
established for a "sleeping" person.
[0097] In another example, while the user is wearing the biometric
monitoring device 102, the biometric monitoring device 102 may
calculate and store a user's step count while the user is wearing
the biometric monitoring device 102 and then subsequently transmit
data representative of step count to the user's account on a web
service like www.Fitbit.com, to a mobile computational device,
e.g., a phone, paired with the portable biometric monitoring unit,
and/or to a standalone computer where the data may be stored,
processed, and visualized by the user. Such transmission may be
carried out via communications through I/O interface 112. Indeed,
the device may measure, calculate, or use a plurality of other
physiological metrics in addition to, or in place of, the user's
step count. These include, but are not limited to, caloric energy
expenditure, floors climbed or descended, heart rate, heart rate
variability, heart rate recovery, location and/or heading (e.g.,
through GPS), elevation, ambulatory speed and/or distance traveled,
swimming lap count, bicycle distance and/or speed, blood pressure,
blood glucose, skin conduction, skin and/or body temperature,
electromyography data, electroencephalographic data, weight, body
fat, and respiration rate. Some of this data may be provided to the
biometric monitoring device from an external source, e.g., the user
may input their height, weight, and stride in a user profile on a
fitness-tracking website and such information may then be
communicated to the biometric monitoring device via the I/O
interface 112 and used to evaluate, in tandem with data measured by
the biometric sensors 110, the distance traveled or calories burned
of the user. The device may also measure or calculate metrics
related to the environment around the user such as barometric
pressure, weather conditions, light exposure, noise exposure, and
magnetic field.
[0098] As mentioned previously, collected biometric data from the
biometric monitoring device may be communicated to external devices
through the communications or I/O interface 112. The I/O or
communications interface may include wireless communication
functionality so that when the biometric monitoring device comes
within range of a wireless base station or access point, the stored
data automatically uploads to an Internet-viewable source such as a
website, e.g., www.Fitbit.com. The wireless communications
functionality may be provided using one or more communications
technologies known in the art, e.g., Bluetooth, RFID, Near-Field
Communications (NFC), Zigbee, Ant, optical data transmission, etc.
The biometric monitoring device may also contain wired
communication capability, e.g., USB.
[0099] Other implementations regarding the use of short range
wireless communication are described in U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 13/785,904, titled "Near Field Communication System, and
Method of Operating Same" filed Mar. 5, 2013 which is hereby
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
[0100] It is to be understood that FIG. 1 illustrates a generalized
implementation of a biometric monitoring device 102 that may be
used to implement a portable biometric monitoring device or other
device in which the various operations described herein may be
executed. It is to be understood that in some implementations, the
functionality represented in FIG. 1 may be provided in a
distributed manner between, for example, an external sensor device
and communication device, e.g., a chest-strap heart rate sensor
that may communicate with a biometric monitoring device.
[0101] Moreover, it is to be understood that in addition to storing
program code for execution by the processing unit to effect the
various methods and techniques of the implementations described
herein, the memory 108 may also store configuration data or other
information used during the execution of various programs or
instruction sets or used to configure the biometric monitoring
device. The memory 108 may also store biometric data collected by
the biometric monitoring device. It is to be further understood
that the processing unit may be implemented by a general or special
purpose processor (or set of processing cores) and thus may execute
sequences of programmed instructions to effectuate the various
operations associated with sensor device syncing, as well as
interaction with a user, system operator or other system
components. In some implementations, the processing unit may be an
application-specific integrated circuit.
[0102] Though not shown, numerous other functional blocks may be
provided as part of the biometric monitoring device 102 according
to other functions it may be required to perform, e.g.,
environmental sensing functionality, etc. Other functional blocks
may provide wireless telephony operations with respect to a
smartphone and/or wireless network access to a mobile computing
device, e.g., a smartphone, tablet computer, laptop computer, etc.
The functional blocks of the biometric monitoring device 102 are
depicted as being coupled by the communication path 114 which may
include any number of shared or dedicated buses or signaling links.
More generally, however, the functional blocks shown may be
interconnected using a variety of different architectures and may
be implemented using a variety of different underlying technologies
and architectures. With regard to the memory architecture, for
example, multiple different classes of storage may be provided
within the memory 108 to store different classes of data. For
example, the memory 108 may include non-volatile storage media such
as fixed or removable magnetic, optical, or semiconductor-based
media to store executable code and related data and/or volatile
storage media such as static or dynamic RAM to store more transient
information and other variable data.
[0103] The various methods and techniques disclosed herein may be
implemented through execution of one or more a sequences of
instructions, e.g., software programs, by the processing unit 106
or by a custom-built hardware ASIC (application-specific integrated
circuit) or programmed into a programmable hardware device such as
an FPGA (field-programmable gate array), or any combination thereof
within or external to the processing unit 106.
[0104] Further implementations of portable biometric monitoring
devices can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No.
13/156,304, titled "Portable Biometric Monitoring Devices and
Methods of Operating Same" filed Jun. 8, 2011, which is hereby
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
[0105] In some implementations, the biometric monitoring device may
include computer-executable instructions for controlling one or
more processors of the biometric monitoring device to obtain
biometric data from one or more biometric sensors. The instructions
may also control the one or more processors to receive a request,
e.g., an input from a button or touch interface on the biometric
monitoring device, a particular pattern of biometric sensor data
(e.g., a double-tap reading), etc., to display an aspect of the
obtained biometric data on a display of the biometric monitoring
device. The aspect may be a numerical quantity, a graphic, or
simply an indicator (a goal progress indicator, for example). In
some implementations, the display may be an illuminable display so
as to be visible when displaying data but otherwise invisible to a
casual observer. The instructions may also cause the one or more
processors to cause the display to turn on from an off state in
order to display the aspect of the biometric data. The instructions
may also cause the display to turn off from an on state after a
predefined time period elapses without any user interaction with
the biometric monitoring device; this may assist in conserving
power.
[0106] Due to the small size of many biometric monitoring devices,
many biometric monitoring devices may have limited space to
accommodate various user interface components. For example, Fitbit
makes a variety of extremely compact biometric tracking units that
each incorporate a biometric sensor suite, a battery, a display of
some sort, a charging interface, and one or more wireless
communications interfaces. In some such examples, the biometric
tracking units also incorporate a vibramotor and/or a button. These
components may be housed, for example, within housings measuring
approximately 2'' long, 0.75'' wide, and 0.5'' thick (Fitbit
Ultra.TM.); approximately 1.9'' in length, 0.75'' wide, and 0.375''
thick (Fitbit One.TM.); approximately 1.4'' long, 1.1'' wide, and
0.375'' thick (Fitbit Zip.TM.); and approximately 1.3'' in length,
0.5'' wide, and 0.25'' thick (Fitbit Flex.TM.). Of course, housings
of other sizes may be used in other implementations of biometric
monitoring devices; the above list is merely intended to illustrate
the small size of many such biometric monitoring devices.
[0107] Despite the small sizes of the above-listed Fitbit devices,
each includes a display of some type--the Fitbit Ultra, Fitbit One,
and Fitbit Zip, for example, all include small pixelated display
screens capable of outputting text, numbers, and graphics. The
Fitbit Flex, due to its smaller size, uses discrete light-emitting
diode (LED) indicators, e.g., 5 LEDs arranged in a row, to convey
information visually. Each of the above-listed Fitbit devices also
have an input mechanism that allows a user to affect some aspect of
the device's operation. For example, the Fitbit Ultra and Fitbit
One each include a discrete pushbutton that allows a user to affect
how the device operates. The Fitbit Zip and Fitbit Flex, by
contrast, do not have a discrete pushbutton but are instead each
configured to detect, using their biometric sensors, when the user
taps the housing of the device; such events are construed by the
processor or processors of such devices as signaling a user input,
i.e., acting as the input mechanism. In some implementations of
biometric monitoring devices described herein, the biometric
monitoring devices may have only one mechanism, e.g., biometric
sensors, for receiving input from a wearer (other than wireless or
wired links to other devices). In some other implementations, the
biometric monitoring device may include only one mechanism, e.g., a
button, other than the biometric sensors in the biometric
monitoring device for receiving input from a wearer. In some
implementations, the biometric monitoring device may not have any
mechanism for receiving physical input from a wearer, but may
instead communicate wirelessly with a paired electronic device,
e.g., a smartphone, that allows a user to provide input to the
biometric monitoring device. Similarly, in some implementations,
the biometric monitoring device may not have any display at all,
i.e., be unable to display any biometric data directly--biometric
data from such biometric monitoring devices may instead be
communicated to a paired electronic device, e.g., a smartphone,
wirelessly and such biometric data may then be displayed on data
display screens shown on the paired electronic device. Such
implementations are also considered to be within the scope of this
disclosure, i.e., such a paired electronic device may act as a
biometric monitoring device configured to communicate with
biometric sensors located external to the biometric monitoring
device represented by the paired electronic device (such biometric
sensors may be located in a separate module worn elsewhere on the
wearer's body).
[0108] The present disclosure relates to biometric monitoring
devices that change what is displayed on the biometric monitoring
device display, and, in some cases, how the biometric monitoring
device responds to user input, depending on the state of the
biometric monitoring device. The state of the biometric monitoring
device may be referred to herein as the "device state" or the
"activity state." The device state may be partially or wholly
determined by environmental or contextual states (also referred to
herein as environments and contexts, respectively) and/or states
intrinsic, i.e., not based on environmental or contextual states,
to the biometric monitoring device itself (referred to herein as
modes). The device state or activity state may generally be
indicative of an activity in which the wearer of the biometric
device is participating, and is to be further understood to be at
least partly determined by biometric data collected from the
biometric sensors of the biometric monitoring device. For example,
a biometric monitoring device may use biometric data from an
altimeter to determine that the wearer of the device is gaining
altitude consistent with climbing a flight of stairs, and may also
determine that the wearer of the device is walking or
running--based on such biometric data, the biometric monitoring
device may determine (without any deliberate input from the wearer)
that the wearer is climbing a flight of stairs. The biometric
monitoring device may thus enter a "stair climbing" environmental
or contextual state for the duration of such activity.
[0109] Generally speaking, modes are typically user-selectable,
e.g., they may be deliberately engaged by a user of the biometric
monitoring device, either directly, such as by pressing a button on
the biometric monitoring device or by sending a command to the
biometric monitoring device from a paired smart phone or other
external device, or indirectly, such as by configuring the
biometric monitoring device to enter into a desired mode based on
some user-set condition being met. One example of such a
user-defined condition may be observed with respect to a "workday
mode" of an example biometric monitoring device that is active on
the example biometric monitoring device between the hours of 8 AM
and 5 PM, Monday through Friday--the example biometric monitoring
device may be reconfigurable to allow a user who worked the night
shift to redefine the "workday mode" as being active on the
biometric monitoring device between the hours of 8 PM to 4 AM,
Monday through Saturday.
[0110] Modes may also be triggered independently of any user
interaction or biometric data collected from the biometric
monitoring device's biometric sensors. For example, some modes may
be triggered based on a system state of the biometric monitoring
device, e.g., a low battery mode, a low memory mode, a sync mode,
etc.
[0111] Correspondingly, environments and contexts are generally
determined by data analysis performed on the data produced by the
biometric sensors and generally correspond to the environment
experienced by the wearer of a biometric monitoring device or, more
typically, the environment experienced by the biometric monitoring
device.
[0112] The boundary between environments/contexts and modes may not
be clearly delineated in some implementations. For example, in some
biometric monitoring devices, biometric data collected from the
biometric sensors may be used to determine if a user has performed
an act that is intended to be an input or interaction with the
biometric monitoring device, e.g., a gesture for controlling the
biometric monitoring device or a double-tap of a person's finger on
the housing of the biometric monitoring device. In such cases, such
biometric data may be interpreted as a deliberate request from the
user to enter a particular mode and not, by itself, as
deterministic of an environmental state or contextual state.
Typically, user inputs are extremely short in duration, e.g., on
the order of a few seconds or less, whereas environmental and
contextual states are determined with respect to a much longer
timeframe, e.g., tens of seconds or even on the order of minutes or
tens of minutes. While biometric data that is interpreted as a
deliberate request may be contained within a larger dataset of
biometric data that triggers an environmental or contextual state,
the biometric data that is interpreted as the deliberate request
does not, by itself, trigger such an environmental or contextual
state). Accordingly, the triggering of an environmental or
contextual state is not viewed as being "based on" biometric data
that is deterministic of a deliberate request, even if the
biometric data that is deterministic of the deliberate request is
included in a larger dataset of biometric data that is
deterministic of the environmental or contextual state.
[0113] In some implementations, an environmental or contextual
state may, in addition to being determined based at least in part
on biometric data, also be determined based at least in part on a
mode that is active on the biometric monitoring device. For
example, if a wearer of a biometric monitoring device activates a
"bicycling" mode, e.g., via input from a linked smartphone, the
biometric monitoring device may interpret biometric data from the
perspective of the data likely indicating "bicycling." For example,
if the biometric data indicates that the wearer is experiencing
high-frequency accelerations, e.g., such as those felt at the
handlebars of a bicycle due to road vibrations, the biometric
monitoring device may interpret such biometric data as correlating
with a "bicycling" environmental state. If such vibrations are not
detected in the biometric data, the biometric monitoring device may
interpret such biometric data as correlating with a "resting"
environmental state (or perhaps a "walking" environmental state).
If the wearer has activated a different mode, e.g., a "skiing"
mode, then such high-frequency accelerations may be interpreted as
indicative of a "downhill skiing" environmental state or context.
Thus, the user may, in some implementations, provide some cues to
the biometric monitoring device in the form of modes that may
influence, at least in part, how the biometric monitoring device
determines which environmental state or contextual state is
active.Environmental and contextual states may be determined based
on a number of different techniques, and the present disclosure may
be applied in biometric monitoring devices that utilize
presently-known techniques for determining environmental or
contextual states, as well as future-developed techniques for
determining environmental or contextual states.
[0114] For example, biometric data that includes accelerometer data
may be analyzed to determine if cyclic accelerations are detected
in the vertical direction; such accelerations may be interpreted as
indicating that the wearer of a biometric monitoring device is
experiencing ambulatory motion, e.g., walking or running. The
biometric monitoring device may analyze such data to determine the
peak-to-peak frequency of such acceleration cycles; depending on
the resulting frequency, such biometric data may be determined to
represent walking (low frequency) or running (high frequency). A
biometric monitoring device may be configured to perform multiple
such analyses on biometric data collected by the biometric
monitoring device to arrive at a determination of a particular
environmental or contextual state.
[0115] For example, a biometric monitoring device may be configured
to evaluate both accelerometer data and barometric data to
determine if a "stair climbing" environmental or contextual state
should be active. For example, barometric data indicating an
elevation change may be divided by an average stair flight height,
e.g., 10 ft, to determine whether such an elevation change
represents the climbing of one or more flights of stairs. However,
such altitude changes may also occur due to non-stair-climbing
activity, e.g., riding an escalator or elevator. To improve
accuracy, an additional level of data analysis may be performed by
the biometric monitoring device--the rate of altitude change may be
analyzed to determine if the rate exceeds any realistic vertical
climb rate for a human being climbing stairs unassisted by
mechanical equipment. For example, a modern high-rise elevator may
allow a person to ascend 20 floors in about 1 minute, which is far
faster than a person could climb unassisted. A biometric monitoring
device may thus determine that biometric data indicating such a
rapid elevation change is not indicative of a "stair climbing"
environmental or contextual state. The biometric monitoring device
may further refine its analysis of such biometric data by examining
accelerometer data collected during the same interval. Such
accelerometer data may reveal whether or not the wearer was
ambulatory while the altitude change was occurring. If the altitude
change occurs at a reasonable rate and the accelerometer data
indicates that the wearer was ambulatory while the altitude change
occurred, the biometric monitoring device may determine that such
altitude change data is indicative of a "stair climbing"
environmental or contextual state.
[0116] The techniques and technologies discussed herein may be used
on a portable biometric monitoring device to improve the user
experience over the current state of the art. However, such
techniques and technologies may be equally applicable to any of a
variety of electronic devices with which a user interacts to
retrieve data, e.g., watches, cell phones, personal music players,
tablets, etc.
[0117] In one implementation, a portable biometric monitoring
device may display different data in response to user input
according to the device state of the device. Due to the limited
display space of many biometric monitoring devices, the data
displayed in association with each device state may be partitioned
into a plurality of different data display pages (discussed in more
detail below), and a user may "advance" through the data display
pages associated with a given device state by providing inputs to
the biometric monitoring device.
[0118] Such device states may, for example, include the display of
information related to, but not limited to, a sleep mode, a workout
mode, and a normal operation or default mode. For example, when the
portable biometric monitoring device is in normal operation mode,
the time may be displayed when the user presses a button on the
device to "wake" the display. By contrast, the number of calories
burned during a workout may be displayed when the user presses the
button to wake the display when the device is in workout mode.
[0119] As mentioned above, various implementations of portable
biometric monitoring devices described herein may have shapes and
sizes adapted for coupling to the body or clothing of a user (e.g.,
secured to, worn, borne by, etc.). Various examples of such
portable biometric monitoring devices are shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and
4. FIG. 2 depicts a biometric monitoring device similar in shape to
a Fitbit One, which may be inserted into a holder with a belt clip
or into a pocket on a wristband. Biometric monitoring device 200
has a housing 202 that contains the electronics associated with the
biometric monitoring device 200. A button 204 and a display 206 may
be accessible/visible through the housing 202. FIG. 3 depicts a
biometric monitoring device that may be worn on a person's forearm
like a wristwatch, much like a Fitbit Flex. Biometric monitoring
device 300 has a housing 302 that contains the electronics
associated with the biometric monitoring device 300. A button 304
and a display 306 may be accessible/visible through the housing
302. A wristband 308 may be integrated with the housing 302. FIG. 4
depicts another example of a biometric monitoring device that may
be worn on a person's forearm like a wristwatch, although with a
bigger display than the biometric monitoring device of FIG. 3.
Biometric monitoring device 400 has a housing 402 that contains the
electronics associated with the biometric monitoring device 400. A
button 404 and a display 406 may be accessible/visible through the
housing 402. A wristband 408 may be integrated with the housing
402.
[0120] As mentioned, the biometric monitoring devices discussed
herein may collect one or more types of physiological and/or
environmental data from sensors embedded within the biometric
monitoring devices, e.g., one or more sensors selected from the
group including accelerometers, gyroscopes, altimeters, etc.,
and/or external devices, e.g., a chest-strap heart rate monitor,
and may communicate or relay such information to other devices,
including devices capable of serving as an Internet-accessible data
sources, thus permitting the collected data to be viewed, for
example, using a web browser or network-based application. For
example, while the user is wearing a biometric monitoring device,
the device may calculate and store the user's step count using one
or more sensors. The device may then transmit the data
representative of the user's step count to an account on a web
service, e.g., www.fitbit.com, a computer, a mobile phone, or a
health station where the data may be stored, processed, and
visualized by the user. Indeed, the device may measure or calculate
a plurality of other physiological metrics in addition to, or in
place of, the user's step count.
[0121] These physiological metrics may include, but are not limited
to, energy expenditure, e.g., calorie burn, floors climbed and/or
descended, heart rate, heart rate variability, heart rate recovery,
location and/or heading, e.g., via GPS, elevation, ambulatory speed
and/or distance traveled, swimming lap count, bicycle distance
and/or speed, blood pressure, blood glucose, skin conduction, skin
and/or body temperature, electromyography data,
electroencephalography data, weight, body fat, caloric intake,
nutritional intake from food, medication intake, sleep periods,
sleep phases, sleep quality and/or duration, pH levels, hydration
levels, and respiration rate. The device may also measure or
calculate metrics related to the environment around the user such
as barometric pressure, weather conditions, e.g., temperature,
humidity, pollen count, air quality, rain/snow conditions, wind
speed, light exposure, e.g., ambient light, UV light exposure, time
and/or duration spent in darkness, noise exposure, radiation
exposure, and magnetic field. Furthermore, the biometric monitoring
device, or an external system receiving data from the biometric
monitoring device, may calculate metrics derived from the data
collected by the biometric monitoring device.
[0122] For example, the biometric monitoring device or system may
calculate the user's stress levels and/or relaxation levels through
a combination of heart rate variability, skin conduction, noise
pollution, and sleep quality.
[0123] In another example, the device or system may determine the
efficacy of a medical intervention, e.g., medication, through the
combination of medication intake, sleep and/or activity data. In
yet another example, the biometric monitoring device or system may
determine the efficacy of an allergy medication through by
processing a combination of pollen data, medication intake, sleep
and/or activity data. These examples are provided for illustration
only and are not intended to be limiting or exhaustive. Further
embodiments and implementations of biometric monitoring devices can
be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/156,304, titled
"Portable Biometric Monitoring Devices and Methods of Operating
Same" filed Jun. 8, 2011 which is hereby incorporated by reference
in its entirety.
[0124] As mentioned previously, biometric monitoring devices are
typically quite small due to practical considerations. People who
wish to monitor their performance are unlikely to want to wear a
large, bulky device that may interfere with their activities or
that may look unsightly. As a result, biometric monitoring devices
are often provided in small form factors to allow for light weight
and ease of carrying. As mentioned previously, such small form
factors often necessitate some design compromises. For example,
there may be limited space for displays, controls, and other
components of the biometric monitoring device within the device
housing. One system component that may be limited in size or
performance is the power source, e.g., a battery, capacitor, etc.,
of the biometric monitoring device. In many implementations, the
biometric monitoring device may be in an "always on" state to allow
it to continually collect biometric data throughout the day and
night. Given that the sensors and processor(s) of the biometric
monitoring device must generally remain powered to some degree in
order to collect the biometric data, it may be advantageous to
implement power-saving features elsewhere in the device, e.g., such
as by causing the display to automatically turn off after a period
of time.
[0125] The Fitbit Ultra.TM. and the Nike Fuelband.TM. are both
examples of biometric monitoring devices that have data displays
that are typically turned off unless the biometric monitoring
device is being interacted with by the user in order to save power.
A typical user interaction may be provided by pressing a button on
the biometric monitoring device, flipping the biometric monitoring
device over and back, or double-tapping the housing of the
biometric monitoring device.
[0126] The term "data display page" is used herein to refer to a
visual display including text, graphics, and/or indicators, e.g.,
LEDs or other lights such as are used on the Fitbit Flex, that are
arranged to communicate data measured, produced, or received by a
biometric monitoring device to a person viewing a display of the
biometric monitoring device. Data that is displayed via data
display pages may include biometric sensor data, e.g.,
accelerometer or altimeter data, or environmental sensor data,
e.g., air quality or sunlight. The term "biometric data display
page" may be used to refer to data display pages that display such
biometric sensor data. Data that is produced by the apparatus may
include clock data, timer data, countdown data, achievement badge
determinations, etc. Data display pages that display aspects of
data that are completely independent of data from the biometric
sensors may be referred to herein as "intrinsic data display
pages." Examples of intrinsic data display pages are data display
pages that display a time-of-day clock, an alarm clock, a
stopwatch, and other values that are calculated independently of
data received from the biometric sensors. Data display pages that
display data received by the apparatus may be referred to herein as
"extrinsic data display pages," and may be used to display data
that is received from a wireless-linked smartphone, via
NFC/wireless with other biometric monitoring devices, or via
wireless/NFC or direct communications with a base station. Some
data display pages may combine two or more of the above sub-types
of data display pages.
[0127] In some implementations, a data display page may have
several data display sub-pages, any one of which may represent the
data display page when used. Such data display sub-pages may
present subsets of related data or may present related data that is
formatted differently. For example, a data display page of "steps
taken" might have "steps," "miles," and "steps v. time" data
display subpages, any one of which may be shown as the data display
page for "steps taken." Advancing to a different data display
subpage of a data display page does not, in itself, cause the data
display page itself to advance.
[0128] The term "splash page" may be used herein to refer to
display pages that are not used to display time-dependent,
biometric, or system data, but are instead used to display
pre-defined content, e.g., a start-up animation, splash screen, or
greeting. A splash page may be randomly selected from a group of
possible splash pages (or selected based on a set order) when the
display is turned on. While the content of the splash screen may be
changed, e.g., by a user entering a custom greeting, it generally
does not change responsive to biometric data measured, produced,
calculated, or received by the apparatus. Display of a clock is
considered to be a "data display page" rather than a "splash page"
within this disclosure since clock data is time-dependent. In some
cases, a data display page may include content similar to that
shown on splash pages, e.g., a person may pre-select a greeting
that is displayed in conjunction with the time on a clock data
display page; in such instances, such a display is to be understood
to be a data display page rather than a splash page.
[0129] The order in which data display pages are displayed on a
biometric monitoring device display may be referred to herein as a
"sequential display order." The sequential display order may change
in response to various stimuli, including, but not limited to, user
input, past interaction history with the biometric monitoring
device, and/or data received from the biometric sensors of the
biometric monitoring device. The sequential display order may be
modified in two general ways.
[0130] In the first case, the relative positioning of two data
display pages in the sequence may be changed. For example, data
display pages A, B, C, and D may be in the order listed and may
then be modified to reflect the sequence A, D, C, and B. Should
specific reference to such modification be required, such
modifications may be referred to herein as "modifying the order of
the sequential display order" or the like.
[0131] In the second case of sequential display order modification,
various data display pages may be added to or removed from the
sequential display order. For example, a biometric monitoring
device may have a stopwatch mode that may be enabled by pressing
and holding a button of the biometric monitoring device for
approximately 2 seconds. When the stopwatch is running, a stopwatch
data display page is added to the sequential display order. When
the stopwatch is stopped (for example, by again pressing the button
for approximately 2+ seconds), its data display page is removed
from the sequential display order. It is to be understood that
"adding" or "removing" data display pages from the sequential
display order may also encompass "hiding" or "showing" such data
display pages.
[0132] The term "interim data display page" may be used herein to
refer to a subtype of data display page. For example, an interim
data display page may be a data display page that is either not
normally shown as part of the sequential display order, e.g., an
achievement celebration screen or text message alert. Interim data
display pages may also be data display pages that are in the
sequential display order but that may be shown out-of-order, e.g.,
the sequential display order might be "steps taken; calories
burned, clock, and stairs climbed," and the display might display
the "clock" data display page when initially turned on, and then
proceed to show "steps taken" (followed by "calories burned,"
"clock" (again), and "stairs climbed" responsive to successive page
advance requests). In this example, the "clock" data display page
serves as an interim data display page. Another way of thinking of
an interim data display page is as a data display page that is
associated with a short-lived mode, environmental state, or
contextual state, i.e., a mode, environmental state, or contextual
state that terminates once its associated data display page or
pages, i.e., interim data display page or pages, have been
displayed.
[0133] In a number of implementations described herein,
presentation of data to a user of a biometric monitoring device is
improved through device-state-dependent display of information and
response to user input. The term "display/response" will be used
herein to refer to the display of information and response to user
input. It is to be understood that while discussion herein focuses
on the visual display of information, information may also or
alternatively be communicated through other methods, such as
through haptic, e.g., vibratory or Braille display, or audio
feedback. The term "display/response" will be used to also describe
communication through these alternative methods in addition to
visual communication. In general, the techniques described herein
with respect to displayed data may also be used with these
alternate communications techniques, although visual display may be
the most efficient for most situations.
[0134] In one implementation, the device may be a wrist-mounted
biometric monitoring device that measures data similar to that
measured by the Fitbit Ultra, e.g., metrics such as steps taken,
distance traveled, floors climbed, calories burned, activity avatar
state, and clock time. Examples of such wrist-mounted biometric
monitoring devices are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Under normal
operation of the biometric monitoring device, an initial user
interaction with the biometric monitoring device may cause the
display to present the user with the clock time. Each subsequent
user interaction, e.g., button press, touching a virtual button on
a touch screen, touching a capacitive sensor, performing a gesture
on a touch screen, and/or performing a physical gesture, may cause
the display to advance through a list of metrics, possibly in a
cyclical or iterative fashion as seen in FIG. 5. In another
implementation, the biometric monitoring device display may remain
on even when the user is not interacting with the device and may
automatically revert, for example, to a time-of-day display, i.e.,
clock time, after a predetermined or programmed interval in which
the user has not directly interacted with the biometric monitoring
device.
[0135] In order to more dynamically change the display/response, a
biometric monitoring device may track its device state through a
variety of mechanisms and transition through different device
states as contextual states, environmental states, and/or modes
change. In some implementations, the device may have multiple
modes, environmental states, and/or contextual states active
simultaneously. In such a case, the device state may be different
for each different combination of environmental states, contextual
states, and/or modes. Modes may include, but are not limited to,
activity annotation, timer, stopwatch, clock/time/watch, sleep
monitoring, work, home, and commute, and activity-specific modes
for tracking user activities such as biking, swimming, walking,
running, climbing, weight-lifting, treadmill exercise, and
elliptical machine exercise. Device contexts may be automatically
set by the device based on a plurality of signals including but not
limited to, step count, calorie burn, floor count, time of day,
location (as determined by a GPS, for example), ambient light
brightness, and ambient light wavelength. Modes may be set by the
user through an interaction with the device including, but not
limited to, pressing a button, touching a virtual button on a touch
screen, touching a capacitive sensor, performing a gesture on a
touch screen, and/or performing a physical gesture. As discussed
above, some modes may be triggered based on system conditions
within the biometric monitoring device, e.g., low battery mode or
low memory mode.
[0136] In another implementation, the mode of the biometric
monitoring device may be set through a secondary device that may
communicate with the biometric monitoring device directly,
communicate with the biometric monitoring device via a third party,
or communicate with the biometric monitoring device via a variety
of external devices and third parties. For example, a user may
select the mode of the biometric monitoring device using an
application on a smartphone that sends the mode selection to a
server. The server, in turn, sends the mode selection to a computer
that then sends the mode selection to the device. Alternatively,
the smart phone application (or the server) may send the mode
selection directly to the device.
[0137] In some cases, a mode of the biometric monitoring device may
be triggered by an intrinsic condition of the device. In one
implementation, a biometric monitoring device may be in a low
battery mode when the battery charge within the biometric
monitoring device drops below a predefined level. In such a case,
the biometric monitoring device may display a low battery warning
data display page before any other data display page when the
display is first turned on after being in an off state. The low
battery mode may coexist with other modes, e.g., the biometric
monitoring device may be in a low battery mode as well as another
mode simultaneously. For example, the device may be in both a low
battery mode and a stopwatch mode. In such a case, the device may
show a low battery data display page in response to a first user
interaction and a stopwatch data display page in response to a
second user interaction.
[0138] In one implementation, the device may have a single mode
(for example, a wristwatch mode) that may always be active and may
thus influence the display/response of any of the device state of
the biometric monitoring device. For example, a portable biometric
monitoring device physically adapted to be coupled to the body may
always have a "wristwatch" mode active that causes the device state
to display a data display page showing the current time before
displaying other data display pages when the user interacts with
the device in one or more specific ways. Preferred interactions may
include pressing a button or performing a gesture such as rotating
and moving the wrist in a manner similar to motions performed when
viewing a wristwatch worn on the forearm. The biometric monitoring
device may display the current time data display page regardless of
the last data display page that was displayed. The biometric
monitoring device may also display the current time data display
page first after powering on the display regardless of the
environmental state or contextual state indicated by measurements
of any of the biometric monitoring device's biometric sensors. The
biometric monitoring device may, in some implementations, display
the current time data display page regardless of the period of time
since the last user interaction and/or last time the display was
on.
[0139] There are many biometric sensors that may be used to detect
various types of biometric data that may determine, at least in
part, an environmental state or contextual state that may be active
in an activity state or device state. The biometric sensors may
include one or more sensors that evaluate a physiological aspect of
a wearer of the device, e.g., heart rate sensors, galvanized skin
response sensors, skin temperature sensors, electromyography
sensors, etc. The biometric sensors may also or alternatively
include sensors that measure physical environmental characteristics
that reflect how the wearer of the device is interacting with the
surrounding environment, e.g., accelerometers, altimeters, GPS
devices, gyroscopes, etc. All of these are biometric sensors that
may all be used to gain insight into the activities of the wearer,
e.g., by tracking movement, acceleration, rotations, orientation,
altitude, etc.
[0140] A larger listing of potential biometric sensor types and/or
biometric data types is shown below in Table 1. This listing is not
exclusive, and other types of biometric sensors other than those
listed may be used. Moreover, the data that is potentially
derivable from the listed biometric sensors may also be derived,
either in whole or in part, from other biometric sensors. For
example, an evaluation of stairs climbed may involve evaluating
altimeter data to determine altitude change, clock data to
determine how quickly the altitude changed, and accelerometer data
to determine whether biometric monitoring device is being worn by a
person who is walking (as opposed to standing still).
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Biometric Biometric data Potentially
derivable Sensor Type potentially measured biometric data
Accelerometers Accelerations experienced Rotation, translation,
velo- at location worn city/speed, distance traveled, steps taken,
elevation gained, fall indications, calories burned (in combination
with data such as user weight, stride, etc.) Gyroscopes Angular
orientation, Rotation, orientation angular velocity, angular
acceleration and/or rotation Altimeters Barometric pressure,
Altitude change, flights of temperature (to calculate stairs
climbed, local a more accurate altitude) pressure changes,
submersion in liquid Pulse Oximeters Blood oxygen saturation Heart
rate variability, stress (SpO2), heart rate, blood levels, active
heart rate, volume resting heart rate, sleeping heart rate,
sedentary heart rate, cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, pulse
transit time, heart rate recovery time, blood volume Galvanic Skin
Electrical conductance of Perspiration, stress levels, Response
Sensors skin exertion/arousal levels Global Positioning Location,
elevation, Distance traveled, velocity/ System (GPS)* speed,
heading speed Electromyographic Electrical pulses Muscle
tension/extension Sensors Audio Sensors Local environmental Laugh
detection, breathing sound levels detection, snoring detection,
respiration type (snoring, breathing, labored breathing, gasping),
voice detection, typing detection Photo/Light Ambient light
intensity, Day/night, sleep, UV Sensors ambient light wavelength
exposure, TV watching, indoor v. outdoor environment Temperature
Temperature Body temperature, ambient Sensors environment
temperature Strain Gauge Weight (the strain Body Mass Index (BMI)
(in Sensors gauges may be located conjunction with user- in a
device remote supplied height and gender from the biometric mon-
information, for example) itoring device, e.g., a Fitbit Aria .TM.
scale, and communicate weight-related data to the biometric
monitor- ing device, either directly or via a shared account over
the Internet) Bioelectrical Body fat percentage (may Impedance be
included in remote Sensors device, such as Aria .TM. scale)
Respiration Rate Respiration rate Sleep apnea detection Sensors
Blood Pressure Systolic blood pressure, Sensors diastolic blood
pressure Heart Rate Sensors Heart rate Blood Glucose Blood glucose
levels Sensors Moisture Sensors Moisture levels Whether user is
swimming, showering, bathing, etc. *In some implementations,
biometric sensors may specifically exclude GPS sensors and other
sensor systems that require a signal from a device not worn on the
body of the person wearing the biometric monitoring device. Such
implementations may refer to "local biometric sensors" (such
biometric monitoring systems may still make use of biometric
sensors that are located elsewhere on the wearer's person but that
are not physically contained in the biometric monitoring device,
e.g., a chest-strap heart rate monitor). It is to be understood
that the techniques and systems discussed herein may also utilize
biometric data produced solely from local biometric sensors in
order to determine, for example, content display, sequential
display orders, and environmental or contextual states. Since much
biometric data that may be used by biometric monitoring devices to
determine environmental or contextual states may be
location-independent, i.e., not requiring absolute world
location/coordinates, many implementations of biometric monitoring
devices as described herein may utilize only local biometric
sensors. Of course, other implementations of biometric monitoring
systems may utilize biometric sensors that provide absolute world
location/coordinates to provide data insights beyond those possible
with local biometric sensors.
[0141] In addition to the above, some biometric data may be
calculated by the biometric monitoring device without direct
reference data obtained from the biometric sensors. For example, a
person's basal metabolic rate, which is a measure of the "default"
caloric expenditure that a person experiences throughout the day
while at rest (in other words, simply to provide energy for basic
bodily functions such as breathing, circulating blood, etc.), may
be calculated based on data entered by the user and the used, in
conjunction with data from an internal clock indicating the time of
day, to determine how many calories have been expended by a person
thus far in the day just to provide energy for basic bodily
functions.
[0142] A biometric monitoring device mode may also be determined by
the presence of or data received from one or a combination of
wireless networks or wireless network-connected devices including,
but not limited to, active near-field communication (NFC) tags,
passive NFC tags, RFID tags, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi devices, and cellular
network devices. Devices that use short-range wireless
communication are further described in U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 13/785,904, titled "Near Field Communication System, and Method
of Operating Same," filed Mar. 5, 2013, which is hereby
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. For example, a
biometric monitoring device may receive a message from another,
nearby biometric monitoring device (via, for example, a wireless
link) indicating that the wearer of the other biometric monitoring
device has achieved a particular goal; this may cause the biometric
monitoring device to enter a "friend goal status" mode that may
cause a data display screen indicating that the person associated
with the other biometric monitoring device has achieved the
goal.
[0143] In another implementation, a mode may be determined by the
amount of time that has passed since the last user interaction, or
the last display of information. For example, a portable biometric
monitoring device may be in a "recently on" mode during a
predetermined period of time, e.g., a minute, immediately after the
display of the biometric monitoring device is turned off, and may
be in a "less recently on" mode during a longer predetermined
period of time, e.g., 10 minutes, immediately after the display of
the biometric monitoring device is turned off. When the "recently
on" mode is active, the biometric monitoring device may show the
last data display page that was presented prior to powering off the
display in response to the user pressing a button to turn on the
display. If the "recently on" mode is not active and the "less
recently on" mode is active, then the biometric monitoring device
may display a "clock" data display page when the user presses a
button on the biometric monitoring device. If neither the "recently
on" mode nor the "less recently on" mode are active when the user
presses a button on the biometric monitoring device to turn on the
display, the biometric monitoring device may display a data display
page showing the number of steps taken since the display was last
on, and then display a data display page showing the time. Specific
units of time (minute, ten minutes) are presented above and in
other instances herein for purposes of example only and may vary in
alternative implementations or programmed configurations.
[0144] In another implementation, device state may be determined in
part or wholly by data not automatically detected using sensors,
but instead by data entered by a person (e.g. by the user). Data
entered by a person may include, but is not limited to, user
preferences on interaction behavior, gender, visual acuity, age,
weight and height. All other data described in this disclosure as
being measured by a sensor may also be entered manually by a person
into the device or a secondary device, e.g. a laptop, desktop
computer and/or smartphone, in communication with the device.
[0145] A user may interact with a biometric monitoring device in
one or more ways. A typical user input, for example, may include
pressing a button. However, as discussed earlier in this
disclosure, a user may provide input to biometric monitoring
devices through other means. For example, a user may touch a
virtual button on a touch screen, touch a capacitive sensor,
perform a gesture on a touch screen, or perform a physical gesture,
e.g., such as by moving their hand or arm in a specific way.
Measurements from one or more sensors selected from the group
including, but not limited to, accelerometers, galvanic skin
response sensors, thermometers, pressure transducers, altimeters,
gyroscopes, photoplethysmograph sensors, electromyographic sensors,
force transducers, strain gauges, and magnetometers may be used to
detect user input.
[0146] The data from such sensors, which may primarily be used to
obtain biometric data, may be stored in raw format by the biometric
monitoring device or may be pre-processed prior to storage by the
biometric monitoring device. For example, the biometric monitoring
device may store or buffer the most recent 10 minutes of data in
raw form but may then store data from prior to the ten-minute
window as filtered data, e.g., with a lower sampling rate and/or
with some form of numerical analysis, such as a moving average,
performed, or as converted data, e.g., acceleration data may be
converted to "steps taken," "stairs climbed," and/or "distance
traveled." Data from the biometric sensors, e.g., raw data or
post-processed data, may be further analyzed to determine if the
biometric data is indicative of a pre-defined biometric state or
condition that is associated with a user input. If such analysis
indicates that such biometric data has been collected, the
biometric monitoring device may then treat such an event as
equivalent to a user input.
[0147] In some cases, user input may be intrinsic to the state of
the user and not consciously controlled by the user, e.g., an
autonomic input. For example, a user input may be triggered by
reaching a certain heart rate as measured by a
photoplethysmographic sensor. The display may show a screen with
data related to high heart rate without the user consciously
interacting with the biometric monitoring device (other than simply
wearing the biometric monitoring device, of course). In another
embodiment, a user input may be triggered by reaching or exceeding
a certain activity goal for a period of time. For example, meeting
a step goal, stair climb goal, distance goal, etc. for the day. In
some implementations, an input to the biometric monitoring device
may be triggered based on notifications of incoming email, text
messages, e.g., via short-message-service (SMS) or via some other
mechanism, or comparisons against friends who are competing with
the user on specific metrics (e.g., steps).
[0148] The biometric monitoring device may be configured to
communicate with the user through one or more feedback mechanisms,
or combinations thereof, such as vibratory feedback, audio output,
graphical output via a display or light-emitting devices, e.g.,
LEDs. For example, upon detecting or determining that the user has
reached a biometric goal, the biometric monitoring device may
vibrate to notify the user. If the user then presses a button, the
display may turn on and present data about the goal that the user
reached, e.g., what goal was reached, if the goal was previously
reached one or more times on a different day, week, month, or year,
and/or how long it took to reach the goal).
[0149] In another example, the color and/or intensity of one or
more LEDs may serve as notifications that the user is winning or
losing against a friend in a competition in, for example, step
count. In yet another example, the biometric monitoring device may
be a wrist-mounted device that may vibrate or emit audio feedback
to notify the user of an incoming email, text message, or other
alert. In some such implementations, if the user then moves his or
her wrist in a gesture similar to checking a watch, the display of
the biometric monitoring device may be turned on and a data display
page relating data relevant to the alert may be presented to the
user. In yet another example, the biometric monitoring device may
present increasingly noticeable feedback methods based on the
importance and/or urgency of the alert. For example, a high
priority alert may include audio, vibration, and/or visual
feedback, whereas a low priority alert may only include visual
feedback. The criteria to distinguish a high priority alert from
lower-priority alerts may be defined by the user. For example, a
high-priority alert may be triggered if an email message or text is
sent with a particular priority, e.g., "urgent," if an email
message or text is sent from a particular person, e.g., a person
that the user has identified as being high-priority, if a meeting
notification or reminder is received or occurs, if a goal is
achieved or if some goal milestone is achieved, e.g., a halfway
mark of the goal, etc. The preceding examples are provided for
illustration and should not be considered as limitations to the
present inventions. Indeed, all possible combinations of feedback
mechanisms and interactions described herein are intended to be
within the scope of the present inventions.
[0150] As discussed above, one or more of the biometric sensors
discussed herein may be used to detect a physical gesture
corresponding to a user input. This allows a user to interact with
the device using physical gestures. For example, a wrist-based
portable biometric device may contain an accelerometer,
magnetometer (which may be used to detect the biometric monitoring
device's orientation with respect to the Earth's magnetic field),
and/or a gyroscope. One or more of these sensors may be used to
determine when the user moves their wrist in a manner that is
similar to that performed when viewing a watch. The portable
biometric device may interpret this gesture as a user input or
interaction. The biometric monitoring device may be configured to
display the time on a display of the biometric monitoring device in
response to the detection of such a gesture. Other gestures that
may be used to cause the portable biometric monitoring device to
display a specific data display page such as the time of day
include, but are not limited to, multiple taps, or a specific
pattern of taps. For example, a user may tap anywhere on the
exterior of the portable biometric monitoring device two times
within a specific time period, e.g., one second, to cause the
display to show a data display page showing the time.
[0151] In another embodiment, a wrist-based portable biometric
device may have one or more electromyographic (EMG) sensors in the
band. These EMG sensors may detect when the user flexes the muscles
in their forearm/wrist by forming a fist, for example. This gesture
may be interpreted by the portable biometric device as a user input
that causes the display to show the time, for example. While some
physical gestures are provided here to illustrate gesture based
interactions, these examples should not be considered
exhaustive.
[0152] The display/response of the biometric monitoring device may
depend on the device state, e.g., contextual device state and/or
intrinsic device mode. Typically, information that deemed as most
relevant or otherwise appropriate with regard to the device state
may be presented in via the display of the biometric monitoring
device, e.g., via a plurality of data display pages, upon the
receipt of one or more user inputs. In some cases, information may
be displayed regardless of user input, e.g., in response to some
other input such as receipt of an email or notification from an
external device, or in response to a lack of user input. The
biometric monitoring device's response to user input may also
change depending on the device state. The following implementations
provide several examples of device-state dependent biometric
monitoring devices, but are by no means considered exhaustive.
[0153] In one implementation, the biometric monitoring device may
have a display that changes what is shown, e.g., advances from one
data display page to the next, after a user interaction occurs,
e.g., after receiving a user input, e.g., as may be indicated by a
page advance input such as a button press or other specific act by
the user. A specific data type or set of data types may be
presented to the user with a data display page when the display
first turns on. Subsequent user inputs may cause the display to
advance through a succession of different data display pages, each
showing different types of information. The information on each
data display page (accessed with each subsequent user input) may
follow a predetermined, e.g., fixed in code or user-specified,
sequential display order. For example, receipt of the first user
input may cause a data display page showing the time to be
displayed, receipt of the second user input may cause a data
display page showing the number of calories burned to be displayed,
and the third user input may cause a data display page showing the
number of steps the user has taken to be displayed. Another
implementation showing the sequential display order of three data
display pages of a biometric monitoring device and the data shown
on each is illustrated in FIG. 5. In the sequential display order
shown in FIG. 5, the three data display pages shown are a timer
data display page, a clock data display page, and a steps taken
data display page. A first user interaction may cause the display
of the biometric monitoring device to turn on (if off) and display
the clock data display page. A second user interaction may cause
the biometric monitoring device display to advance to a timer data
display page. A third user interaction may cause the biometric
monitoring device to advance to the steps taken data display page.
In many implementations, the sequential display order may be
cyclic, e.g., when all of the data display pages in the sequential
display order have been displayed, the sequential display order may
return back to the first data display page. In the depicted
example, a fourth user interaction may cause the biometric
monitoring device display to advance back to the timer data display
page. A fifth user interaction may then be treated in a manner
similar to the second user interaction, a sixth user interaction
may be treated similar to the third user interaction, and so
forth.
[0154] In implementations that allow a user to specify a sequential
display order, the biometric monitoring device may be configured to
reference sequential display orders downloaded to the biometric
device from a remote device, e.g., a paired smartphone or an
internet server. A user may specify or modify the user-specified
sequential display orders on the smartphone or via a web browser
interface and the biometric monitoring device may then download the
user-specified sequential display orders for later reference.
[0155] It is to be understood that there may be a different number
of data display pages than the three data display pages shown,
e.g., more or fewer data display pages of information, and that
each data display page may display more than one type of
information, e.g., a clock also may be displayed on a data display
page showing steps taken.
[0156] In some implementations, if all the data display pages have
been shown, a further user interaction may cause the display to
turn off rather than returning to the "first" data display page in
the sequential display order as in the sequential display order
shown in FIG. 5. In some such implementations, the display may turn
off after a set period of time elapses after the last user input.
In another implementation, the biometric monitoring device may
cause the display to enter a different operation type or series of
operation types after a set period of time or set of time periods.
For example, the display may first dim after 5 seconds and then
turn off completely 10 seconds later.
[0157] In one implementation, the data display page that is
displayed on the display of a biometric monitoring device
immediately after the display is turned on responsive to receiving
a first user input may depend on the device state of the biometric
monitoring device. For example, the display may always display a
clock data display page responsive to receiving a first user input
if the biometric monitoring device is operating in a normal,
"default" device state and the display is in the off state when the
first user input is received. FIG. 6 depicts an example sequential
display order for a biometric monitoring device that is operating
in a "default" device state (referred to in FIG. 6 as "State A").
The biometric monitoring device of FIG. 6 has a display that is
normally in an off state in the "default" device state so as to
conserve power in the absence of any user interaction. In response
to a first user interaction, e.g., "first" user interaction
received after the display has been turned off, the biometric
monitoring device may turn on the display and present a "clock"
data display page, e.g., "Time: 12:45 PM." A second, subsequent
user interaction may cause the biometric monitoring device display
to advance to a "steps taken" data display page, e.g., "Steps:
2405." Further subsequent user interactions may cause the display
to advance through additional data display pages, e.g., third
through n.sup.th data display pages, if such data display pages are
normally displayed when the biometric monitoring device is in that
default device state.
[0158] FIG. 7 depicts an example sequential display order for the
biometric monitoring device of FIG. 6 but operating in a device
state (referred to in FIG. 7 as "State B") that differs from the
"default" device state in that a "timer" mode is active on the
biometric monitoring device. For example, in the "timer" mode, the
biometric monitoring device may track the amount of time remaining
in a countdown timer. The biometric monitoring device may also
identify biometric data recorded by the biometric monitoring device
while the timer is running such that the biometric data recorded
while the timer is running may be associated with the operation of
the timer. When the "timer" mode is active, the display of the
biometric monitoring device, similar to the "default" device state,
may ordinarily be kept in an off state to conserve energy. In
response to a first user interaction, e.g., "first" user
interaction received after the display has been turned off, the
biometric monitoring device may turn on the display and present a
"timer" data display page, e.g., "Timer: 9 min remaining." A
second, subsequent user interaction may cause the biometric
monitoring device display to advance to a "steps taken" during
timer data display page, e.g., "Steps taken during timer: 98." The
"steps taken during timer" data display page and the "steps taken"
data display page both show data representing steps taken, but
differ with respect to which time periods they refer. For example,
the "steps taken" data display page may ordinarily be configured to
display the total number of steps taken during the span of a normal
day, e.g., from midnight to midnight. By contrast, the "steps taken
during timer" data display page may only display the number of
steps taken while the timer is running. This may, for example, be
of interest to the wearer if they are trying to obtain a certain
fitness goal, e.g., taking 1000 steps within 5 minutes. Further
subsequent user interactions may cause the display to advance
through additional data display pages, e.g., third through n.sup.th
data display pages, if such data display pages are normally
displayed when the biometric monitoring device is in the device
state that includes the timer mode. For example, some such
implementations may also show the "steps taken" data display page
(in addition to the "steps taken during timer" data display page)
as part of the sequential display order.
[0159] A biometric monitoring device may also be capable of
operating in a device state that accounts for a "stopwatch" mode
being active in the biometric monitoring device. The "stopwatch"
mode may operate in a manner similar to the "timer" mode, but may
count up instead of down. When a biometric monitoring device's
device state is modified to account for an active "stopwatch" mode
on the biometric monitoring device, a "stopwatch" data display page
may be inserted into the sequential display order and displayed
responsive to a user interaction.
[0160] A biometric monitoring device may also be capable of
operating in an "annotation" mode that may cause the biometric
monitoring device to mark, flag, or otherwise identify data that is
gathered while the biometric monitoring device is in the
"annotation" mode as being associated with an annotation. The
annotation may be a default annotation that may be changed or
updated by a user later, or may be automatically assigned based on
various parameters. For example, if a biometric monitoring device
is placed into an "annotation" mode prior to the wearer going to
sleep and then taken out of the "annotation" mode after the wearer
wakes up, e.g., via user interactions, the biometric monitoring
device may record biometric data that indicates that the wearer was
largely stationary and horizontal during the time that the
biometric monitoring device was in the "annotation" mode. This, in
combination with the time of day that the "annotated" biometric
data was collected, may cause the biometric monitoring device to
automatically annotate such data as a "sleeping" activity. A wearer
of the biometric monitoring device may, alternatively, indicate
that the "annotated" biometric data is associated with a particular
activity, e.g., by entering a label or other identifier of the
activity in association with the annotated data after the biometric
data is exported from the biometric monitoring device to a website
or other data store or by inputting such a label or other
identifier into a device, e.g., a smartphone, that is paired with
the biometric monitoring device and within communications range of
the biometric monitoring device. In such implementations, a
sequential display order similar to that shown in FIG. 7 may be
used, except that an "annotation" data display page may be
displayed in place of the "timer" data display page. The
"annotation" data display page may indicate that the biometric
monitoring device is in annotation mode. In some implementations,
the "annotation" mode and the "stopwatch" mode may coexist, e.g.,
when the "stopwatch" mode is active, the "annotation" mode is also
active. Thus, the stopwatch data display page may, explicitly or
implicitly, indicate that the biometric monitoring device is in the
"annotation" mode in addition to displaying a stopwatch.
[0161] When a biometric monitoring device is in the "annotation"
mode, information related to the activity being annotated may be
displayed, e.g., data display pages for various types of biometric
data may show quantities limited to biometric data that are
measured while the biometric monitoring device is in the
"annotation" mode. For example, in the "annotation" mode, a data
display page for "steps taken" may only display a quantity of steps
that have been taken while the biometric monitoring device is in
the "annotation" mode (rather than, for example, the quantity of
steps taken throughout the day).
[0162] When a biometric monitoring device is in an "annotation"
mode that tracks sleep, the sequential display order may cause the
display to show data display pages indicating how long the user has
been sleeping, a metric of the quality of their sleep, and/or the
amount of time remaining before a wake time or alarm.
[0163] In some implementations, the biometric monitoring device may
be configured to provide an alarm after a threshold associated with
biometric data is reached. For example, some biometric monitoring
devices may be configured to determine how restfully someone is
sleeping while in an annotation mode that tracks sleep. Such a
biometric monitoring device may be configured to provide an alarm
that may be set to go off after the biometric monitoring device
records biometric data indicating that the wearer of the biometric
monitoring device has experienced six hours of high-quality sleep.
High-quality sleep, for example, may be evaluated based on whether
or not the wearer is moving while sleeping. If the wearer of the
biometric monitoring device is moving very little or not at all,
such data may indicate that the wearer is experiencing
"high-quality" sleep. If the biometric data indicates that the
wearer of the biometric monitoring device is tossing and turning,
then such data may indicate that the wearer of the biometric
monitoring device is experiencing "low-quality" sleep. In some such
implementations, the biometric monitoring device may be configured
to how much "high-quality" sleep has been indicated by the
biometric data during a "sleep" annotation mode at regular
intervals, e.g., every 10 minutes.
[0164] In some implementations of such sleep-quality alarming
biometric monitoring devices, the sleep-quality alarm may be an
alarm that functions in parallel or in tandem with a time-based
alarm. For example, the biometric monitoring device may be
configured to trigger an alarm at a specific time or after a
specific quantity of high-quality sleep has been indicated while a
"sleep" annotation mode is active. If either alarm is triggered,
the other alarm may be canceled. In some implementations, the
time-based alarm may remain active even after the
sleep-quality-based alarm has been triggered; this allows the
wearer to continue sleeping even if they have reached their desired
number of "high-quality" sleep hours.
[0165] In some biometric monitoring device implementations, if it
is a certain time period of day, such as the morning, a "morning"
mode may be active and the display may show a data display page
with time in response to receiving a user input while the display
is off.
[0166] Additionally, device states such as those disclosed herein
may cause a biometric monitoring device in such a device state to
change not only the information shown on the data display page
displayed by the biometric monitoring device after turning on the
display, but also the information displayed on the following data
display pages, the order of the data display pages, and the number
of data display pages displayed.
[0167] The device states disclosed herein may also cause biometric
monitoring devices in such device states to change other aspects of
the user interface other than the display-centric aspects already
discussed in this disclosure. Such other aspects may include, but
are not limited to, changing the action performed by a user input,
changing to the appearance of, location of, and action associated
with virtual buttons on a touch screen, changing the action
initiated by user input such as a gesture on a touch sensitive
screen, or changing the action initiated by performing a gesture
with the device. The device state may also cause aspects of the
device other than the user interface to change, including, but not
limited to, what type of biometric sensor data is acquired, the
method and/or sampling rate of biometric sensor data acquisition,
and the power savings strategy of the device.
[0168] For example, if a biometric monitoring device is in a device
state that actively tracks heart rate, this may cause the display
of the biometric monitoring device to show the heart rate on the
display after powering on the display responsive to a first user
interaction with the device. A heart rate sensor, which may
ordinarily be in an "off state" or in a low-sampling rate state,
e.g., checking heart rate once every fifteen minutes, may be placed
into an on state or a higher-sampling rate state, e.g., monitoring
heart rate more or less continuously, while the biometric
monitoring device is in the device state where heart rate is being
actively tracked.
[0169] In another example, if a biometric monitoring device is in a
device state associated with the wearer being asleep, it may be
less likely for the wearer to input information into or otherwise
interact with the biometric monitoring device. Therefore, the
biometric monitoring device may decrease the sensitivity of various
input detection mechanisms (or even turn the completely off) to
reduce the risk of accidental inputs and/or to save power. In other
device states, it may be desirable to change the user input method
based on the limitations of various input mechanisms in various
environments. For example, if a biometric monitoring device is in a
device state associated with swimming, e.g., the biometric
monitoring device independently determines, e.g., through moisture
sensors or pressure sensor data, or is actively placed into a
swimming mode by the wearer of the biometric monitoring device, a
touchscreen interface for the biometric monitoring device may be
deactivated since it may not function well in water. The wearer may
instead interact with the biometric monitoring device using
physical buttons rather than the touchscreen when the biometric
monitoring device is in this device state.
[0170] In some implementations, the portable biometric monitoring
device may include mechanisms or capabilities for responding to
more than one type of user interaction. User interactions may
include, but are not limited to, those already disclosed herein,
e.g., pressing a button, performing a gesture such as moving your
hand in a manner similar to viewing a watch, tapping one or
multiple times in a specific pattern, and performing a specific
gesture on a touchscreen. Different kinds of user interactions may
correspond to different functions. For example, a button press user
interaction may cause a data display page showing a first metric
related to an activity or physiological signal, e.g., ambulatory
motion or cardiac signal may have the metrics step counts and heart
rate respectively). An additional user input of a different input
method (e.g. by tapping the device one or more times) may trigger
display of a second metric related to the same activity or
physiological signal. In another implementation, additional user
input of a different input method may trigger presentation of a
submenu or information unrelated to the previous screen shown. An
example of such an interface may be found in FIGS. 10, 11, and 12
(discussed in more depth later in this disclosure).
[0171] The information and device states described herein are
intended for illustration and should not be interpreted as
limitations to the present disclosure. Indeed, a variety of
combinations of information and device states are intended within
the scope of the present inventions.
[0172] In some implementations, some environments/contexts and/or
modes may have priority over others in determining the device state
and/or display/response if the environments/contexts and/or modes
occur simultaneously or within a time window of each other. For
example, a biometric monitoring device with a "working" mode that
is active during weekday working hours may be configured such that
the device state always causes a data display page with a to-do
list to be displayed responsive to receiving a first user
interaction while the biometric monitoring device display is off
regardless of what other modes or environments/contexts the
biometric monitoring device is in or experiencing.
[0173] In another implementation, shown in FIG. 8, a low battery
mode may have priority over other modes and may cause the biometric
monitoring device to enter a device state where the biometric
monitoring device causes the display to show a data display page
indicating a low battery warning when the display is first powered
on and before data display pages that would normally be displayed
are shown.
[0174] FIG. 9 depicts another example of a sequential display
order. In FIG. 9, the device state of the example biometric
monitoring device advances causes the display to be turned on from
an off state and to display a "timer" data display page responsive
to a first user interaction received while the display is in an off
state. The device state of the biometric monitoring device pictured
in FIG. 9 causes further receipt of user interactions to advance
through a "time" data display page and a "steps taken" data display
page. A fourth user interaction may, in some implementations, cause
the display to turn off again. In other implementations, the fourth
user interaction may cause the sequential display order to be reset
and the "timer" data display page to be shown again.
[0175] Additionally, there may be user-specified sequential display
orders for each combination of two or more modes, environmental
states, and/or contextual states. For example, the user may
configure the biometric monitoring device such that when a "work"
mode or contextual state is active, e.g., the time is during
working hours and a location sensor indicates that the biometric
monitoring device is in a location near a pre-defined "work
location," simultaneously with an "annotation" mode, the sequential
display order may cause a data display page showing how much time
the user has spent typing (assuming that the biometric monitoring
device can detect typing, e.g., via acoustic or vibratory sensors)
for the duration of the annotation mode to be displayed in response
to a first button press, a data display page showing the time to be
displayed on the display in response to a subsequent button press,
and a data display page showing a to-do list to be displayed on the
display in response to a further subsequent button press. The user
may specify such user-specified sequential display orders using,
for example, a web site or a mobile device application that allows
the user to edit the sequential display orders and then cause the
edited sequential display orders to be uploaded to the biometric
monitoring device via a communications link.
[0176] In another implementation, a first user interaction may
cause the display of a biometric monitoring device to show one of
multiple screens depending on the amount of time that has passed
since the last user interaction was received or the last time that
something was displayed on the display. If the time period between
the last user interaction and/or the last time something was
displayed on the display meets or exceeds a certain threshold, then
a first data display page may be shown on the display, e.g., a
"clock" data display page responsive to receipt of a first user
interaction while the display is off. If the time period between
the last user interaction and/or the last time something was
displayed on the display is less than that threshold, then another
data display page, e.g., the last data display page that was shown
on the display prior to the display being turned off, may be shown
responsive to receipt of a first user interaction while the display
is off. For example, if a user presses a button on a biometric
monitoring device to cause the display of the biometric monitoring
device to turn on from an off state, the biometric monitoring
device may cause the display to turn on and then display a "clock"
data display page if the display has not been on within the
previous 1 minute and display the data display page that was
displayed on the display when the display entered the off state if
the display has been on within the previous 1 minute.
[0177] In some implementations, the device state may change not
only which data display pages are included in the sequential
display order of the data display pages and the order of those data
display pages within the sequential display order, but also how the
data display pages present the data. For example, in some
situations, it may be more important to make the biometric data
presented in a data display page legible than to show a high level
of detail about such biometric data. For example, if a biometric
monitoring device is in a device state associated with the activity
of "running," it may be difficult for the wearer of the biometric
monitoring device to read small, dense text. Therefore, the
biometric monitoring device may, when in the device state
associated with the "running" activity, cause the display to
present less biometric data or less descriptive text on a data
display page than may be displayed on the data display page when
the biometric monitoring device is in a device state not associated
with a "running" activity, but may also cause such biometric data
to be displayed in a larger, easier-to-read font. For example, the
device may only display the distance that the user has run in miles
rather than display the number of steps taken. In another example,
the wearer's age and/or visual acuity score may be used to
determine the size of the text, icons, and other visually presented
information on the display, and the data display pages may be
accordingly modified.
[0178] In another implementation, the user may have the ability to
modify or define device states and/or to modify their associated
display/response characteristics. A user may also or alternatively
be able to change what determines that the device is in a certain
environmental state, contextual state, and/or mode. For example, a
biometric monitoring device may have a default "daytime" mode may
be defined as being from sunrise to sunset. However, the user could
choose to change this mode to be active within the time period from
2 hours after sunrise to 1 hour before sunset. In another example,
a biometric monitoring device may have a default "work" mode that
may be determined by detection of the user's proximity to a
location associated with work. The user may, if employed in a job
that involves continuous travel to unpredictable locations, choose
to change the "work" mode to be location-independent and to instead
be active during the hours of 8 AM to 5 PM on standard workdays. A
user may also choose to use multiple signals to trigger an
environmental state, contextual state, or mode. For example, the
user may configure their biometric monitoring device such that an
"active" contextual state be engaged on their biometric monitoring
device whenever the biometric monitoring device senses that the
wearer's heart rate is above 90 beats per minute and the wearer's
speed is between 3 and 8 miles per hour.
[0179] The user may also be able to change the priority of
environmental states, contextual states, and/or modes. For example,
a user may choose that the "active" environmental or contextual
state has the highest priority, that a "work" mode has the second
highest priority, and that a "daytime" mode has the lowest
priority. Whenever multiple states are detected, the overall device
state and the device display/response may be determined by the
detected environmental state, contextual state, or mode with the
highest priority. In some cases, the user may choose a single,
static, device state. The user may be able to modify the
display/response associated with this single, static device
state.
[0180] Some implementations of biometric monitoring devices may
include an "alarm" mode that may alert the wearer of the biometric
monitoring device (in some cases, even if the wearer is not wearing
the biometric monitoring device but is instead nearby) when a
particular condition has occurred. For example, some biometric
monitoring devices may have the ability to set one or more
time-based alarms that may be configured by the wearer to go off
when pre-set times are reached. The "alarm" mode may be active when
there is any alarm that is set to trigger in the future; in some
implementations, the "alarm" mode may only be active if there is an
alarm that is set to trigger within some limited future period,
e.g., if there is an alarm that is set to trigger within the next
18 hours.
[0181] A biometric monitoring device with an active alarm mode may
have a device state that may cause "alarm" data display pages to be
shown as part of the sequential display order of the biometric
monitoring device. The "alarm" data display pages may include
information pertaining to future alarms that are set on the
portable biometric device (and/or on a secondary computing device
in communication with the biometric monitoring device). In some
implementations, the time of day and the day of the week that the
next alarm will go off may be displayed as illustrated in FIG. 13A.
Other information pertaining to one or more alarms set on the
biometric monitoring device (or a secondary computing device in
communication with the biometric monitoring device) may include but
is not limited to the next alarm alert characteristics, e.g.,
vibration, vibration intensity, audio, volume, light, light
intensity, sunrise simulation, etc., the reason for the alarm,
e.g., appointment, meeting, time to wake up, time to go to sleep,
etc., whether the alarm is to be repeated, how long (or how many
times) the alarm will be repeated, the periodicity of a repeating
alarm, e.g., once every week for the next 4 months, and so forth as
illustrated in FIGS. 13B, 13C, 13D, 13E, and 13F.
[0182] In one implementation, the portable biometric monitoring
device may have an alarm clock function intended to wake the wearer
or user from sleep. Similar to the way a conventional alarm clock
functions, the wearer or user may have the ability to set the alarm
clock to "snooze," i.e., temporarily stop the alarm for a short
period of time, typically minutes, and then have the alarm
re-trigger. In a conventional alarm clock, a button on the alarm
clock allows the user to set it to snooze. A portable biometric
monitoring device may also be set to snooze by pressing or touching
a button on the biometric monitoring device one or more times as
illustrated in FIG. 4. In one implementation, the button may be a
capacitive touch button or touch control. In another
implementation, the biometric monitoring device may have a touch
screen. The user may be required to perform a touch-input gesture
on the touchscreen in order to set the biometric monitoring device
to snooze. The touch screen may provide visual guides on the screen
so as to aid the user in performing the correct gesture. For
example, the user may have to trace an "S" on the touch screen to
enter snooze mode. If the user would like to make it more difficult
to turn off their alarm or to set it to snooze in the morning, a
more difficult gesture may be required, e.g., as specified in a
programmed setting within the portable biometric monitoring device,
in order to turn off the alarm or set the alarm to snooze. This may
be useful in cases where the user has a habit of "snoozing"
multiple times. In some implementations, the gesture required to
turn off snooze mode may be randomized or changed with each
successive alarm. This may require the user to open their eyes to
observe the gesture required and then tailor their input to the
required gesture. This may assist in rousing stubborn sleepers.
[0183] In another implementation, the portable biometric monitoring
device may include a motion sensor. The motion sensor may be
configured to detect gestures that the user makes with the part of
the body to which the biometric monitoring device is coupled. For
example, the biometric monitoring device may be coupled to the
user's wrist with a band. To set the device to snooze, the user may
twist their wrist while wearing the biometric monitoring device. In
another embodiment, a gesture may be performed on the device with a
body part to which the device is not coupled. For example, the user
may tap a biometric monitoring device worn on their forearm with a
finger of the opposite hand to set the biometric monitoring device
to snooze the alarm.
[0184] While the above discussion has focused on a variety of
different implementations, the following discussion explores some
of the techniques discussed above in greater detail.
[0185] FIG. 14 depicts a flow diagram for a technique that may be
used to cause a biometric monitoring device to function as a watch
responsive to data received from biometric sensors within the
biometric monitoring device.
[0186] The technique 1400 may begin in block 1402 with the receipt
of data by a processor or processors of a biometric monitoring
device from biometric sensors of the biometric monitoring device.
Such data may be analyzed in block 1404 to determine if the
biometric data indicates that the biometric monitoring device has
moved in a manner consistent with the movement that a wrist-mounted
biometric monitoring device would experience if worn on a person's
forearm while the person moves that forearm into a position
typically assumed when a person is checking their watch. For
example, if the biometric data indicates that the person's forearm
(and the biometric monitoring device worn on that forearm) has
moved from a position generally aligned with the sagittal and
frontal planes of the person to a position generally aligned with
the frontal and transverse planes of the person, e.g., the person
has moved their forearm from a position generally parallel to the
long axis of their body to a position that crosses over their torso
in a left-to-right (or right-to-left) direction, such an indication
may be identified as indicating that the detected movement
corresponds with motion consistent with the motions that a person's
forearm may experience when the person checks their watch. In other
implementations, the biometric monitoring device may analyze the
biometric data it collects to determine if the biometric monitoring
device has experienced movement consonant with movement
corresponding with adduction of the person's wrist joint with
respect to the mid-sagittal plane of the person and medial rotation
of the hand connected to the wrist joint. In yet other
implementations, the biometric monitoring device may analyze the
biometric data it collects to determine if the biometric monitoring
device has experienced movement corresponding with motion
experienced by the distal end of a person's forearm with flexure of
the forearm about the forearm's elbow joint.
[0187] In block 1406, the processor or processors of the biometric
monitoring device may evaluate the biometric data to determine if
the biometric monitoring device has received biometric data
indicating that the biometric monitoring device (and the forearm
upon which it is worn) is in a watch-viewing position with respect
to the wearer.
[0188] If the processor or processors determine in block 1406 that
the biometric monitoring device is not in a watch-viewing position,
the technique may return to block 1402 and further biometric data
may be received and analyzed.
[0189] If the processor or processors determine in block 1406 that
the biometric monitoring device is in a watch-viewing position,
then the technique may proceed to block 1408. In block 1408, the
processor or processors may determine if the display of the
biometric monitoring device is on or otherwise already displaying
content. If not, then the processor or processors may cause the
display to turn on, e.g., by sending a power-on signal to the
display, in block 1410 before proceeding to block 1412. In block
1412, the processor or processors may cause a data display page
showing a clock to be shown on the display. In this manner, the
wearer of the biometric monitoring device does not need to perform
any other actions to cause the display of the biometric monitoring
device to show the time other than those that the wearer would
generally do when checking a watch that always shows the time. This
also allows the display of the biometric monitoring device to be
powered off most of the time and only powered on under certain
conditions, e.g., such as when the wearer "checks" their
watch/biometric monitoring device.
[0190] In some such implementations, in block NN12 the biometric
monitoring device may show a data display page other than a clock
data display page. For example, the biometric monitoring device may
show a data display page that has been defined as being
particularly pertinent to an environmental or contextual state that
is determined based on the biometric data collected by the
biometric sensors of the biometric monitoring device. For example,
if an environmental or contextual state associated with "running"
is active on the biometric monitoring device, in block NN12, the
biometric monitoring device may display a "distance run" data
display page or a "running pace" data display page instead of a
"clock" data display page.
[0191] FIG. 15 depicts a person's arm, forearm, and hand with a
biometric monitoring device worn on the forearm. In FIG. 15, a
person's "arm" is shown. In everyday speech, the term "arm" is
typically used to refer to the entirety of the limb connected to a
person's shoulder. However, as used herein, the term "arm" refers
to the portion of that limb located between the shoulder joint and
the elbow joint of that limb. The term "forearm" refers to the
portion of that limb between the elbow joint and the wrist joint.
The forearm may encompass a portion of the limb that may often be
called the "wrist," e.g., the portion of the forearm on which a
person may wear a watch or bracelet. This disclosure uses the
conventions outlined in Joseph E. Muscolino's "Kinesiology: The
Skeletal System and Muscle Function," Second Edition (2011), when
discussing various body parts or other kinesiological concepts.
[0192] Since a person's arm and forearm are organic structures with
widely-varying appearances from person to person, it may be useful
to utilize a common reference framework when discussing such a limb
or when discussing items that may be worn on such a limb. For
example, despite the wide variation in shape and size of forearms
in the general population, every normal forearm will have a forearm
axis 1557 that is substantially aligned with the longest dimension
of the forearm. Another way of thinking of the forearm axis 1557 is
as the axis that passes through the nominal centers of rotation of
the wrist joint and the elbow joint. In addition to a forearm axis,
it may be useful to refer to an elbow axis 1559 and a wrist axis
1553. The elbow axis 1559 may generally define the pivot axis of
the forearm about the elbow joint during flexion and extension of
the forearm, and the wrist axis 1553 may generally define the pivot
axis of the hand about the wrist joint during flexion and extension
of the hand (in reality, some of these joints are capable of
complex, multi-axial rotation--the pivot axis, as used herein,
refers to the axis about which the greatest extent of rotational
motion is possible for a joint). An arm axis 1561 may be generally
aligned with the long dimension of the arm and may pass through the
center of rotation of the elbow joint and the center of rotation of
the shoulder joint (not pictured). A hand axis 1555 may pass
through the center of the wrist joint and generally in a direction
aligned with the middle finger of the hand when at full
extension.
[0193] As can be seen, the biometric monitoring device 1550 may be
located in or on a wristband that encircles the forearm near the
wrist (although some users may wear such bands at a loose enough
setting that the band may slide over the wrist joint area itself;
such bands are still considered to be configured to be worn around
the wearer's forearm, however). The wristband may generally define
a wristband plane 1551 that is substantially perpendicular to the
forearm axis 1557.
[0194] FIG. 16 depicts a flow diagram for a further technique that
may be used to cause a biometric monitoring device to function as a
watch responsive to data received from biometric sensors within the
biometric monitoring device.
[0195] The technique 1600 may begin in block 1602 with the receipt
of data by a processor or processors of a biometric monitoring
device from biometric sensors of the biometric monitoring device.
Such data may be analyzed in block 1604 to determine if the
biometric data indicates that the biometric monitoring device has
rotated about at least one axis. For example, if the biometric data
indicates that the biometric monitoring device has rotated about an
axis such as the forearm axis 1557, such an indication may be
interpreted as indicating that the wearer of the biometric
monitoring device has rotated their wrist (and thus caused the
portion of the forearm adjacent to the wrist and on which the
biometric monitoring device is worn to experience similar rotation
about the forearm axis). Such rotation may be detected using any of
a variety of different techniques. If a gyroscope sensor is
included in the biometric monitoring device, the data from such a
sensor may be used to determine rotational speed and orientation of
the biometric monitoring device. If accelerometers are included in
the biometric monitoring device, the accelerations measured by the
accelerometers may be used to calculate rotational speed and
rotational orientation. For example, the Earth's gravitational
field may provide a reference frame for the acceleration data that
allows rotational orientation or speed based on tri-axial
acceleration measurements to be calculated. Similarly, if a
magnetometer is included in the biometric monitoring device, the
Earth's magnetic field may be used as a reference frame to
determine the absolute orientation of the biometric monitoring
device relative to the Earth's surface.
[0196] In some implementations, the processor or processors of the
biometric monitoring device may be configured to identify
rotational movements that are more complex than simple rotation
about the forearm axis. For example, when a person moves their
forearm from a relaxed position, e.g., the anatomic position, to a
position with the forearm generally aligned with the transverse
plane and the frontal plane, such motion may involve compound
rotation about an axis parallel to the elbow axis 1559 and about an
axis parallel to the forearm axis 1557. In terms of an absolute
coordinate system, this may translate to triaxial rotations.
[0197] In block 1606, the processor or processors of the biometric
monitoring device may evaluate the biometric data to determine if
the biometric monitoring device has received biometric data
indicating that the biometric monitoring device has experienced
rotation about at least one axis.
[0198] In some implementations, the biometric data may be further
evaluated to determine if the rotational movement or orientation,
if such is detected, meets certain minimum requirements. For
example, the processor or processors may be further configured to
determine if detected rotational movement is at least at a rate of
90.degree./sec and through a substantially continuous rotation of
at least 45.degree. about the forearm axis. In other
implementations, the processor or processors may be further
configured to determine if the detected rotational movement is at
least one of the rotational rates in the group including at least
90.degree. per second, at least 60.degree. per second, at least
45.degree. per second, and at least 30.degree. per second. In such
implementations, the processor or processors may also be further
configured to determine if the detected angular
displacement/continuous rotation is at least one angular
displacement in the group including at least 90.degree., at least
60.degree., at least 45.degree., and at least 30.degree..
[0199] Such filtering may be used to eliminate spurious rotational
movement that is generally classifiable as being unrelated to the
motions typically experienced by a person's forearm when the person
looks at a wristwatch. For example, when a person walks, they may
swing their arms, which may cause the biometric sensors of a
biometric monitoring device worn on the person's forearm to
cyclically rotate about an axis parallel to the person's shoulder
axis. Such rotation, however, would not involve rotation about the
person's forearm, however, and may thus be screened out as an
indicator of a watch-viewing position.
[0200] The biometric sensors used to determine whether the
biometric monitoring device has experienced motion consistent with
movements a person may make to bring their forearm into a
watch-viewing position may be selected from a wide variety of
different sensor types, including single-axis or multi-axis
gyroscopes, single-axis or multi-axis accelerometers,
magnetometers, electromagnetic field sensors, laser rangefinder
sensors, Doppler radar sensors, and altimeter sensors. A pair of
spaced-apart tri-axial accelerometers may provide a particularly
cost-effective mechanism for measuring 3-dimensional movements of a
biometric monitoring device, and the data collected from such
sensors may be sufficient for determining whether the biometric
monitoring device has experienced motion consistent with movements
a person may make to bring their forearm into a watch-viewing
position.
[0201] In some implementations, the determination as to whether the
forearm on which the biometric monitoring device is worn has moved
into a watch-viewing position may be performed using only data from
accelerometers in the biometric monitoring device.
[0202] If the processor or processors determine in block 1606 that
the biometric monitoring device has not experienced rotation about
at least one axis, the technique may return to block 1602 and
further biometric data may be received and analyzed.
[0203] If the processor or processors determine in block 1606 that
the biometric monitoring device is in a watch-viewing position,
then the technique may proceed to block 1608. In block 1608, the
processor or processors may determine if the display of the
biometric monitoring device is on or otherwise already displaying
content. If not, then the processor or processors may cause the
display to turn on, e.g., by sending a power-on signal to the
display, in block 1610 before proceeding to block 1612. In block
1612, the processor or processors may cause a data display page
showing a clock to be shown on the display. In this manner, the
wearer of the biometric monitoring device need not perform any
other actions to cause the display of the biometric monitoring
device to show the time other than those that the wearer would
generally do when checking a watch that always shows the time. This
also allows the display of the biometric monitoring device to be
powered off most of the time and only powered on under certain
conditions, e.g., such as when the wearer "checks" their
watch/biometric monitoring device.
[0204] FIG. 17 depicts a flow diagram for yet another technique
that may be used to cause a biometric monitoring device to function
as a watch responsive to data received from biometric sensors
within the biometric monitoring device.
[0205] The technique 1700 may begin in block 1702 with the receipt
of data by a processor or processors of a biometric monitoring
device from biometric sensors of the biometric monitoring device.
Such data may be analyzed in block 1704 to determine if the
biometric data indicates that the biometric monitoring device has
moved from an orientation where a normal to the display of the
biometric monitoring device is substantially unaligned with the
Earth's gravitational field, e.g., the display is oriented such
that a normal to the display makes an angle of more than 30.degree.
with the maximum gravitational strength vector at that location, to
an orientation where the normal of the display of the biometric
monitoring device is substantially aligned with the Earth's
gravitational field, e.g., the display is oriented such that the
normal to the display makes an angle of 30.degree. or less with the
maximum gravitational strength vector at that location. The
boundaries of such orientation determinations may be modified from
the 30.degree. limits discussed above. Such angular limits may be
selected based on empirical measurements that indicate the typical
orientations of watch faces when people check their watches.
[0206] If the processor or processors determine in block 1706 that
the biometric monitoring device is not in a watch-viewing position,
the technique may return to block 1702 and further biometric data
may be received and analyzed. The biometric monitoring device may
also screen the biometric data to prevent unnecessary display of a
clock data display page. For example, if the display of the
biometric monitoring device is determined to have been in
substantially alignment with the maximum gravitational strength
vector for more than a first amount of time, e.g., 30 seconds, or
if the clock data display page has been displayed since the last
time the display was determined to be in the non-aligned position,
then the processor or processors may determine that the biometric
monitoring device is not in a watch-viewing position even if the
biometric data indicates that it physically is in such a position.
The user may need to "reset" the biometric monitoring device
orientation by placing it in the substantially unaligned position
and then moving it back to the substantially aligned position.
[0207] If the processor or processors determine in block 1706 that
the biometric monitoring device is in a watch-viewing position,
then the technique may proceed to block 1708. In block 1708, the
processor or processors may determine if the display of the
biometric monitoring device is on or otherwise already displaying
content. If not, then the processor or processors may cause the
display to turn on, e.g., by sending a power-on signal to the
display, in block 1710 before proceeding to block 1712. In block
1712, the processor or processors may cause a data display page
showing a clock to be shown on the display. In this manner, the
wearer of the biometric monitoring device does not need to perform
any other actions to cause the display of the biometric monitoring
device to show the time other than those that the wearer would
generally do when checking a watch that always shows the time. This
also allows the display of the biometric monitoring device to be
powered off most of the time and only powered on under certain
conditions, e.g., such as when the wearer "checks" their
watch/biometric monitoring device.
[0208] Each of the techniques outlined in FIGS. 14, 16, and 17 may
be used to provide for a biometric monitoring device that may be
worn on a person's forearm and that may display the time in a
transiently-visible manner, i.e., the biometric monitoring device
may normally not display the time (to conserve power or to achieve
a certain design aesthetic) but may display the time in a transient
manner, e.g., for a period of a few seconds, in response to the
natural motions that people normally make when checking a standard
watch, e.g., moving the forearm into a position that allows for
convenient reading of a watch.
[0209] It is to be understood that there may be a variety of
techniques in addition to those described herein that may be used
to determine that a biometric monitoring device has experienced
motion consistent with a person's typical watch-checking movements.
Biometric monitoring devices providing transient clock or time
display responsive to such watch-checking movements using
techniques other than those specifically described herein are also
considered to be within the scope of this disclosure.
[0210] Additionally, it is to be understood that the techniques
described herein for providing a transiently-visible clock or time
display are not necessarily limited to biometric monitoring device
implementations, but may also be implemented in other forearm-worn
devices that include sensors that may allow for a determination
that the forearm-worn device is experiencing motion consistent with
the wearer checking a watch on the forearm. For example, a bracelet
that appears to be purely cosmetic may have a hidden display that
may display the time when the forearm wearing the bracelet is moved
into a watch-viewing position. The bracelet may have a processor or
processors, one or more sensors, and, of course, the display. The
bracelet may not, however, actually store the gathered data for any
extended period of time (unlike a biometric monitoring device).
These non-biometric monitoring implementations are also considered
to be within the scope of this disclosure.
[0211] It is to be understood that the techniques discussed above
with respect to FIGS. 14, 16, and 17 may involve, for example, a
combination of a mode and an environmental or contextual state. For
example, the environmental or contextual state reflected in the
biometric data may indicate that the biometric device is being
subjected to a watch-viewing motion; this may be interpreted as a
user interaction with the biometric monitoring device which may, in
turn, cause the biometric monitoring device to enter a "wristwatch"
mode. The device state (or activity state) of the biometric
monitoring device may then change to account for the "wristwatch"
mode being active.
[0212] As discussed above, certain modes may have priority over
other modes, environmental states, or contextual states. The
"wristwatch" mode may, for example, have priority over all or
nearly all other modes, and the device state that includes the
"wristwatch" mode may therefore prioritize the display of the data
page or data pages that are associated with the "wristwatch"
mode.
[0213] In some implementations, the biometric monitoring device
may, after displaying a clock or time data display page in response
to a watch-viewing motion, display a data display page relevant to
other modes of the biometric monitoring device. For example, after
first displaying a clock or time data display page, the biometric
monitoring device may next display the last data display page that
was displayed on the display prior to the most recent power-down of
the display.
[0214] Other implementations of device-state dependent biometric
monitoring devices are discussed below with reference to FIGS. 18
through 23. While these techniques and examples are provided in the
context of biometric monitoring devices, further implementations
may be implemented in other contexts, e.g., other devices having
some, perhaps incidental, biometric sensing capabilities.
[0215] FIG. 18 depicts a flow diagram of a technique for modifying
the sequential display order of an example biometric monitoring
device. In FIG. 18, the technique 1800 may begin in block 1802 with
the receipt of biometric data from biometric sensors of a biometric
monitoring device. The biometric data may be evaluated in block
1804 to determine if the biometric data indicates a first
environmental or contextual state. For example, the biometric data
may cause a "walking" or "running" environmental or contextual
state to become active on the biometric monitoring device. It is to
be understood that for FIG. 18, as well as FIGS. 19 through 23, the
first environmental or contextual state and/or the second
environmental or contextual state (if discussed) may be become
active responsive to biometric data collected by the biometric
monitoring device biometric sensors
[0216] If block 1804 does not cause the first environmental or
contextual state to become active on the biometric monitoring
device, the technique may return to block 1802. If block 1804 does
the first environmental or contextual state to become active on the
biometric monitoring device, then the technique may proceed to
block 1806. In block 1806, the sequential display order of data
display pages that may be advanced through on the display of the
biometric monitoring device may be modified based on the first
environmental or contextual state. For example, the sequential
display order may be modified to include data display pages that
are relevant to the contextual states and/or environmental states
that are active as a result of the biometric data. The sequential
display order may also be modified such that the order through
which those data display pages may be advanced may change from
environmental or contextual state state to environmental or
contextual state state.
[0217] While blocks 1802 through 1806 are performed, blocks 1808
through 1812 may also be performed. In block 1808, a page advance
request may be received by the biometric monitoring device. The
page advance request, for example, may be generated by a person
pressing a button of the biometric monitoring device, by tapping
the housing of the biometric monitoring device, or by some other
mechanism. The page advance request represents a request by a user
for the biometric monitoring device to advance from the data
display page currently displayed (if any) to the next data display
page in the sequential display (as modified by whatever
environmental or contextual state or states are currently active).
If the currently-displayed data display page is the last data
display page in the sequential display order, the data display page
that is first in the sequential order may be treated as the "next"
data display page in the sequential display order. This may be
referred to herein as a "modular" or "modulo" sequential display
order.
[0218] In other implementations, instead of a "modular" or "modulo"
sequential display order, the sequential display order may reverse
when the last data display page in the sequential display order is
displayed. For example, if a sequential display order consists of
data display pages A, B, C, and D, and data display page D is
displayed, the sequential display order following the display of
data display page D may be C, B, and A (and then B, C, and D after
the data display page A is displayed).
[0219] In some other implementations, e.g., ones in which a user
may be able to both advance through and retreat through data
display pages, the sequential display order may not reverse when
the last data display page in the sequential display order is
displayed, but instead the user may only be allowed to retreat from
the last data display page to the data display page just prior to
the last data display page (and similarly, when the first data
display page in the sequential display order is shown, the user may
only be allowed to advance to the next data display page and may
not be allowed to retreat from the first data display page in the
sequential display order). It is to be understood that within the
context of this disclosure, generally any features that are
discussed in the context of "page advance requests" and "advancing"
through data display pages may also be implemented using "page
retreat requests" and may, correspondingly, involve retreating
through the sequential display order of data display pages (in a
direction opposite that used to advance through the sequential
display order of the data display pages).
[0220] The sequential display order, it is to be understood, refers
to an end result as perceived by a user of a biometric monitoring
device, i.e., as the user advances through the data display pages
that are displayable at a given point in time, the user may be
presented the data display pages in a particular order and perceive
such presentation as representing a sequential display order. There
may be many techniques that are used to provide such an effect to a
user, and it is to be understood that regardless of the particular
technique used to achieve such an effect, all such techniques are
considered to be within the scope of this disclosure and as
providing or managing a sequential display order.
[0221] As discussed above, there may be many ways to manage and
track the sequential display order. The discussion herein generally
treats the sequential display order as a look-up table where the
currently-display data display page may be looked up and the next
data display page in the sequential display page identified.
Another alternative is to manage and track the sequential display
order using a mechanism such as a circular shift register. In such
an implementation, the currently-display data display page may
generally always be located in the same absolute position within
the shift register, e.g., "last," and the next data display page to
be shown may generally always be located in the same absolute
position within the shift register, e.g., "first." When a user
advances from the currently-displayed data display page to the next
data display page in the sequential display order, all of the
entries in the circular shift register may advance as well. There
are a multitude of other techniques that may be used to track and
manage the sequential display order in addition to those discussed
herein. It is to be understood that modification of a sequential
display order, regardless of the particular mechanism used to track
and manage the sequential display order, based on the current
environmental or contextual state of a biometric monitoring device
is within the scope of this disclosure.
[0222] In some implementations, the sequential display order may be
implicitly defined instead of explicitly defined. For example, a
biometric monitoring device may instead utilize a set of heuristics
or rules that ultimately determine what data display pages are
displayed in association with a particular device mode,
environmental state, contextual state, or combination thereof, and
may apply those heuristics or rules in response to each page
advance request to determine which data display page will be
displayed next. Such implicit sequential display orders are
considered to be within the scope of this disclosure as well, and
it is to be understood that "sequential display order" as used
herein refers to both implicit and explicit sequential display
orders.
[0223] In other implementations, a biometric monitoring device may
have multiple sets of data display pages specified in
separately-stored lists. A biometric monitoring device may be in a
device state in which one such list of data display pages is used
to select data display pages for display in that device state and
may then transition to another device state in which another list
of data display pages is used to select data display pages for
display. The data display pages for each list may remain fixed,
i.e., no re-ordering of the data display pages for each list may
occur, and no data display pages may be added or removed from the
lists. However, transitioning from the display of data display
pages from one list to the display of data display pages from the
other list is still considered, under the conventions of this
disclosure, to involve the modification of the sequential display
order used to determine the order in which data display pages are
shown responsive to page advance requests.
[0224] After a page advance request is received in block 1808, the
technique 1800 may proceed to block 1810, where the biometric
monitoring device may determine the sequential display order for a
plurality of data display pages. The biometric monitoring device
may, for example, obtain the sequential display order from the
above-mentioned look-up table or circular shift register. In some
implementations, the biometric monitoring device may not manage the
sequential display order as a pre-determined list or array, but may
instead re-calculate the sequential display order at the time each
page advance request is received.
[0225] The sequential display order determined in block 1810 may
change depending on the outcome of block 1806. If block 1806 causes
the biometric monitoring device to modify the sequential display
order consonant with the first first environmental or contextual
state, the modified sequential display order may be referenced in
block 1810.
[0226] After determining the sequential display order in block
1810, the display may be caused to advance to the next data display
page in the sequential display order after the currently-displayed
data display page. After the data display page has been advanced,
the technique may return to block 1808 and wait for another page
advance request to be received. In some implementations, the
technique may return to block 1808 prior to causing the data
display page to be advanced, allowing several page advance requests
to be queued up. Each queued-up page advance request may cause the
biometric monitoring device to advance to a subsequent data display
page.
[0227] It is to be understood that blocks 1802 through 1806 and
blocks 1808 through 1812 may be performed concurrently, and that
the sequential display order used to determine which data display
page is to be displayed next in block 1812 may be influenced by the
modifications to the sequential display order performed in block
1806. Moreover, the sequential display order may, in some
implementations, change between successive page advance requests
based on the modifications made in block 1806. In some other
implementations, however, the modified sequential display order may
not be provided for use in block 1810 immediately. For example, the
modified sequential display order may only be provided after the
current sequential display order has been cycled through from start
to finish, or only after the display has been automatically powered
down to conserve power.
[0228] FIG. 19 depicts a flow diagram of a further technique for
modifying the sequential display order of an example biometric
monitoring device.
[0229] In FIG. 19, the technique 1900 may begin in block 1902 with
the receipt of biometric data from biometric sensors of a biometric
monitoring device. The biometric data may be evaluated in block
1904 to determine if the biometric data indicates a first
environmental or contextual state. If the evaluation in block 1904
does not indicate a first environmental or contextual state, then
the technique may return to block 1902 and await further biometric
data.
[0230] If the evaluation in block 1904 does cause the biometric
monitoring device to enter the first environmental or contextual
state, the sequential display order of data display pages of the
biometric monitoring device may be modified in block 1906 based on
the first environmental or contextual state. This may occur in a
manner similar to that discussed above with respect to block
1806.
[0231] While blocks 1902 through 1906 are performed, blocks 1908
through 1916 may also be performed. In block 1908, a page advance
request may be received by the biometric monitoring device, much as
in block 1808. In block 1910, the sequential display order of the
data display pages is determined. If block 1906 has been performed
and the first environmental or contextual state is active, then the
sequential display order may be as modified in block 1906.
[0232] In block 1912, the processor or processors of the biometric
monitoring device may determine if the display of the biometric
monitoring device used to display data display pages is on. If the
display is determined to be on in block 1912, the processor or
processors of the biometric monitoring device may, in block 1914,
cause the display to advance to the data display page that is next
in the sequential display order, as determined in block 1910, with
respect to the currently-displayed data display page.
[0233] If the display is determined to be off in block 1912, the
processor or processors of the biometric monitoring device may, in
block 1916, cause the display to turn on again and to display the
data display page that was displayed on the display on the most
recent instance in which the display was turned off.
[0234] After either block 1914 or 1916 is performed, the technique
may return to block 1908 and await a further page advance request.
In some implementations, if multiple page advance requests are
received such that the temporal spacing between page advance
requests is less than a screen power-off delay that causes the
display to be de-powered or placed in standby, the first page
advance received may cause block 1916 to be performed, and each
subsequent such page advance request may cause block 1914 to be
performed. It is to be understood that, generally speaking,
reference herein to the display being in an "off" state also refers
to displays that are not off, but in a low-power standby mode where
a reduced amount of display functionality is provided as compared
with non-standby operation modes.
[0235] In some implementations, the display may be a
non-illuminable display, e.g., an LCD display or a reflective
display, and instead of turning on the display, a backlight or
frontlight for the display may be turned on or off. In some such
implementations, the display may also be turned off, and both the
display and the backlight or frontlight may be turned on. In some
further such implementations, the display may be turned on and, if
a light sensor on the biometric monitoring device indicates that
ambient light values are sufficiently low, the biometric monitoring
device may also turn on a backlight or frontlight to assist in
viewing the content on the display.As with FIG. 18, blocks 1902
through 1906 and blocks 1908 through 1916 may be performed
concurrently, and the sequential display order used to determine
which data display page is to be displayed next in block 1914 may
be influenced by the modifications to the sequential display order
performed in block 1906. It is also to be understood that the
relative order of the operations represented in blocks 1902 through
1916 (as well as the blocks of other techniques described herein)
may be somewhat re-ordered from the order shown. For example, block
1910 may be performed between block 1912 and block 1914, instead of
before block 1912, without affecting the overall functionality of
the technique 1900. Such alternate implementations are also
considered to be within the scope of this disclosure.
[0236] FIG. 20 depicts a flow diagram of another technique for
modifying the sequential display order of an example biometric
monitoring device.
[0237] In FIG. 20, the technique 2000 may begin in block 2002 with
the receipt of biometric data from biometric sensors of a biometric
monitoring device. The biometric data may be evaluated in block
2004 to determine if the biometric data indicates a first
environmental or contextual state. If the evaluation in block 2004
does not indicate that the first environmental or contextual state
to be active, then the technique may proceed to block 2004' to
determine if the biometric data indicates whether a second
environmental or contextual state is indicated.
[0238] For example, if the biometric data indicates that the wearer
of the biometric monitoring device is climbing stairs, e.g., an
altimeter sensor indicates that the wearer is changing altitude at
a rate that is consistent with climbing stairs and accelerometers
indicate that the wearer is moving up and down consistent with a
person's gait while climbing stairs, the biometric monitoring
device determine that a first environmental or contextual state
associated with stair climbing is active. If the biometric data
instead indicates that that the wearer of the biometric monitoring
device is running, e.g., accelerometers in the biometric monitoring
device indicate that the wearer is experiencing accelerations
consistent with running, then the biometric monitoring device may
determine that the first environmental or contextual state is not
indicated and may instead determine that a second environmental or
contextual state is indicated. If the biometric data does not
indicate that any environmental or contextual state is active, then
the technique may return to block 2002 and await further biometric
data. It is to be understood that there may be additional blocks
2004 (and 2006) for third, fourth, . . . n.sup.th environmental or
contextual states rather than just the two environmental or
contextual states shown.
[0239] If the biometric data causes the biometric monitoring device
to enter the first environmental or contextual state in block 2004,
then the technique may proceed to block 2006. In block 2006, the
sequential display order may be modified based on the first
environmental or contextual state. For example, if the first
environmental or contextual state is associated with stair
climbing, then the sequential display order may be modified to
cause a "total stair flights climbed today" data display page to be
first in the sequential display order, followed by a "contiguous
stair flights currently climbed" data display page, followed by a
data display page showing a graphic of a recognizable object that
gives an indication of the magnitude of the elevation change, e.g.,
if the biometric data indicates an elevation change of two stories,
a giraffe might be shown, whereas if the biometric data indicates
an elevation change of five stories, a tree might be shown. Other
data display pages, e.g., a "clock" data display page, a "steps
taken" data display page, and a "calories burned" data display
page, may be included in the sequential display order after the
three data display pages relating to stair climbing. The
modification of the sequential display order may involve including
data display pages that may not be included in the sequential
display order for other environmental or contextual states. For
example, the "total stair flights climbed today" data display page
may ordinarily be included in the sequential display order for a
default device state or default activity state, but the "contiguous
stair flights currently climbed" data display page, as well as the
graphic-based data display page indicating the elevation change
magnitude, may generally not be included in the sequential display
order for the default device state or default activity state. Such
data display pages may, however, be added to the sequential display
order based on the first environmental or contextual statebeing
active, e.g., if the first environmental or contextual state is
associated with stair climbing.
[0240] If the biometric data causes the biometric monitoring device
to enter the second environmental or contextual state in block
2004', then the technique may proceed to block 2006'. In block
2006', the sequential display order may be modified based on the
second environmental or contextual state. For example, if the
second environmental or contextual state is associated with
running, then the sequential display order may be modified to cause
a "running distance" data display page to be first in the
sequential display order, followed by a "average miles per hour"
data display page, followed by a data display page showing a
graphic of a recognizable object that gives an indication of how
fast the wearer of the biometric monitoring device is running,
e.g., if the biometric data indicates that the wearer is running at
a pace of 6 mph, a turtle or snail may be shown, whereas if the
biometric data indicates that the wearer is running at a pace of 10
mph, a rabbit may be shown. Other data display pages, e.g., a
"clock" data display page, a "steps taken" data display page, and a
"calories burned" data display page, may be included in the
sequential display order after the three data display pages
relating to running.
[0241] While blocks 2002 through 2006/2006' are performed, blocks
2008 through 2016 may also be performed. In block 2008, a page
advance request may be received by the biometric monitoring device,
much as in block 1808. In block 2010, the sequential display order
of the data display pages is determined. If block 2006 has been
performed and the biometric monitoring device is in the first
environmental or contextual state, then the sequential display
order may be as modified in block 2006. If block 2006' has been
performed and the biometric monitoring device is in the second
environmental or contextual state, then the sequential display
order may be as modified in block 2006'.
[0242] In block 2012, the processor or processors of the biometric
monitoring device may cause the display to advance to the data
display page that is next in the sequential display order, as
determined in block 2010, with respect to the currently-displayed
data display page.
[0243] After block 2012 is performed, the technique may return to
block 2008 and await a further page advance request. In some
implementations, blocks 2008 through 2012 may be replaced with
operations similar to those represented in blocks 1908 through
19018.
[0244] As with FIG. 18, blocks 2002 through 2006 and blocks 2008
through 2012 may be performed concurrently, and the sequential
display order used to determine which data display page is to be
displayed next in block 2012 may be influenced by the modifications
to the sequential display order performed in blocks 2006 or
2006'.
[0245] In various implementations, a biometric monitoring device
may determine that an environmental or contextual state or states
from a multitude of different environmental or contextual states is
active, and may modify the sequential display order to display data
display pages with data that is predetermined as being pertinent to
the environmental or contextual state that is active.
[0246] For example, if the first environmental or contextual state
indicates that an ambulatory motion state is active, then the
sequential display order may be modified to include data display
pages that display content that includes data such as step count
since the first contextual or environmental state was determined,
running pace, miles per hour, kilometers per hour, distance run
since the first contextual or environmental state was determined,
stairs climbed since the first contextual or environmental state
was determined, elevation change since the first contextual or
environmental state was determined, current elevation, time elapsed
since the first contextual or environmental state was determined,
current heart rate, current heart rate zone, calories burned,
calories burned since the first contextual or environmental state
was determined, and/or combinations thereof.
[0247] In some such implementations, the biometric monitoring
device may determine that the ambulatory motion state is an
ambulatory motion state such as a walking state, a running state, a
hiking state, an interval training state, or a treadmill state
based on the biometric data.
[0248] In some implementations, the biometric monitoring device may
determine that a running state is active based on the biometric
data indicating a step rate above a first threshold. In some other
or additional implementations, the biometric monitoring device may
determine that a running state is active based on the biometric
data indicating a speed above 4 miles per hour and below 20 miles
per hour coupled with the biometric data indicating that the person
is engaged in ambulatory motion.
[0249] In some implementations, the biometric monitoring device may
determine that a walking state is active based on the biometric
data indicating a step rate below the first threshold. In some
other or additional implementations, the biometric monitoring
device may determine that a walking state is active based on the
biometric data indicating a non-zero speed below 4 miles per hour
coupled with the biometric data indicating that the person is
engaged in ambulatory motion.
[0250] In another example, if the first environmental or contextual
state indicates that a water sports state is active, then the
sequential display order may be modified to include data display
pages that display content that includes data such as laps since
the first contextual or environmental state was determined, current
stroke type, stroke count of current stroke type, lap time,
swimming efficiency, current heart rate, current heart rate zone,
calories burned, calories burned since the first contextual or
environmental state was determined, and/or combinations
thereof.
[0251] In some such implementations, the biometric monitoring
device may determine that the water sports state is an indoor
swimming state or an outdoor swimming state based on the biometric
data.
[0252] In another example, if the first environmental or contextual
state indicates that a aerobic exercise machine state is active,
then the sequential display order may be modified to include data
display pages that display content that includes data such as
duration since the first contextual or environmental state was
determined, current heart rate, current heart rate zone, calories
burned, calories burned since the first contextual or environmental
state was determined, and/or combinations thereof.
[0253] In some such implementations, the biometric monitoring
device may determine that the aerobic exercise machine state is an
elliptical machine state, a stair climbing machine state, a
stationary bicycle state, a spinning machine state, or a rowing
machine state based on the biometric data.
[0254] In yet another example, if the first environmental or
contextual state indicates that an aerobic exercise state is
active, then the sequential display order may be modified to
include data display pages that display content that includes data
such as duration since the first contextual or environmental state
was determined, current heart rate, current heart rate zone,
calories burned, calories burned since the first contextual or
environmental state was determined, and/or combinations
thereof.
[0255] In some such implementations, the biometric monitoring
device may determine that the aerobic exercise state is a Zumba.TM.
state, an aerobic dance state, a kick boxing state, or a jump rope
state based on the biometric data.
[0256] In yet another example, if the first environmental or
contextual state indicates that a resistance training state is
active, then the sequential display order may be modified to
include data display pages that display content that includes data
such as number of repetitions since the first contextual or
environmental state was determined, number of sets since the first
contextual or environmental state was determined, time between
sets, current heart rate, current heart rate zone, calories burned,
calories burned since the first contextual or environmental state
was determined, lifting form, and/or combinations thereof.
[0257] In some such implementations, the biometric monitoring
device may determine that the resistance training state is a bicep
curl state, a benchpress state, a military press state, a pull-ups
state, a push-ups state, a set-ups state, or a squats state based
on the biometric data.
[0258] In yet a further example, if the first environmental or
contextual state indicates that a resting state is active, then the
sequential display order may be modified to include data display
pages that display content that includes data such as sleep
quality, number of times awoken, sleep stage, duration since the
first contextual or environmental state was determined, quiescent
sleep time, restless sleep time, ambulatory sleep time, overall
time elapsed since the first contextual or environmental state was
determined, and/or combinations thereof.
[0259] In some such implementations, the biometric monitoring
device may determine that the resting state is a sleeping state, a
reclining state, a sitting state, an office work state, a reading
state, a watching-TV state, or a leisure state based on the
biometric data.
[0260] A rest state may, for example, be determined to be a sleep
state based on the biometric data collected by the biometric
monitoring device indicating that the wearer of the biometric
monitoring device is substantially inactive for a first time
period. In some implementations, the biometric monitoring device
may also determine that the first time period includes time between
the hours of 9:00 PM and 6:00 AM as a further indicator that the
biometric data indicates a sleep state.
[0261] FIG. 21 depicts a flow diagram of an additional technique
for modifying the sequential display order of an example biometric
monitoring device.
[0262] In FIG. 21, the technique 2100 may begin in block 2102 with
the receipt of biometric data from biometric sensors of a biometric
monitoring device. The biometric data may be evaluated in block
2104 to determine if the biometric data causes a first
environmental or contextual state to be active. If the evaluation
in block 2104 does not cause a first environmental or contextual
state to be active on the biometric monitoring device, then the
technique may return to block 2102 and await further biometric
data.
[0263] While blocks 2102 through 2106 are performed, blocks 2108
through 2114/2116 may also be performed. In block 2108, a page
advance request may be received by the biometric monitoring device.
In block 2110, the sequential display order may be determined. The
sequential display order may, for example, be modified per the
actions of block 2106. The technique may then proceed to block
2112, where the processor or processors of the biometric monitoring
device may determine if the display of the biometric monitoring
device is in an off state.
[0264] If a determination is made in block 2112 that the display is
in an off state, then the sequential display order may be further
modified in block 2114 such that one or more interim data display
pages are next in the sequential display order. The sequential
display order may further be modified such that the one or more
interim data display pages are followed by the data display page
that was last displayed on the display prior to the display
entering the off state. In some implementations, however, the
sequential display order may instead be further modified such that
the non-interim data display page that would have been displayed
next if the sequential display order had not been modified to
include the interim data display pages is displayed next after the
interim data display page or interim data display pages. In some
cases, a splash page may be used instead of an interim data display
page. In some implementations, interim data display pages may
include "low battery" data display pages, "low memory" data display
pages, "sync-in-progress" data display pages, etc. that may be used
to communicate biometric monitoring device system status to the
user.
[0265] Another example of an interim data display page is a
"message" or "reminder" data display page. For example, if the
biometric monitoring device receives an indication of a text
message, a "tweet," a comment on a social networking site, or an
email, this might cause a "message received" state to be active on
the biometric monitoring device. When the "message received" state
is active, the device state may alter and cause the sequential
display order to be modified to cause a "message" data display page
to be inserted into the sequential display order such that the
"message" data display page is the next data display page to be
displayed when a page advance request is received. The "message"
data display page may display some content associated with the
received message. This may be as simple as an icon indicating that
the message was received, e.g., a graphic of an envelope, or may
include additional data, e.g., the name of the sender, an excerpt
from the message, etc.
[0266] Yet another example of an interim data display page is an
"achievement indicator" that may be associated with an "achievement
reached" state. For example, the biometric monitoring device may
detect that the wearer has exceeded a predefined goal or
achievement threshold, e.g., 10,000 steps taken in one day, and
may, responsive to such an event, enter an "achievement reached"
state. This may cause the sequential display order to be modified
to cause an "achievement award" data display page to be the next
data display page in the sequential display order to be displayed
responsive to receipt of a page advance request. Thus, if the
display is off when the page advance request is received, the
display may turn on and display the "achievement award" data
display page. After a further page advance request is received to
cause the display to advance to the next data display page in the
sequential display order, the "achievement reached" state may be
inactivated and the "achievement award" data display page may be
removed from the sequential display order. In other
implementations, the "achievement reached" state may stay active
for a predetermined period of time before becoming inactivated,
e.g., 1 minute after a subsequent page advance request is
received.
[0267] The technique may then proceed from block 2114 to block
2116, where the processor or processors of the biometric monitoring
device may cause the display to advance to the data display page
that is next in the sequential display order after the data display
page that was most recently displayed on the data display page. If
a determination is made in block 2112 that the display of the
biometric monitoring device is already on, then block 2116 may be
performed without performing block 2114.
[0268] FIGS. 22A and 22B provide examples of sequential display
orders. In FIG. 22A, a table is provided that lists a sequential
display order for five data display pages in the right-most column.
The left column indicates the display status of the listed data
display pages. As can be seen, the "distance traveled" data display
page is currently displayed, and the "calories burned" data display
page is the data display page that will be displayed next
responsive to receipt of a page advance request, e.g., such as may
be done in block 2116.
[0269] FIG. 22B depicts the same sequential display order as shown
in FIG. 22A, but modified to insert two interim data display pages
into the sequential display order, such as may be done in block
2114.
[0270] For example, a biometric monitoring device may be displaying
the data display pages listed in the sequential display order of
FIG. 22A. The user of the biometric monitoring device may cause the
display to cycle through the five listed data display pages--as
long as the display does not turn off, each successive page advance
request by the user may cause the biometric monitoring device to
display the next data display page listed in the sequential display
order with respect to the data display page currently displayed. If
the last data display page in the sequential display order is
displayed, then the next data display page that is displayed
responsive to a page advance request may be the first data display
page in the sequential display order, as indicated by the arrow on
the right side of the table. If the display of the biometric
monitoring device is currently displaying the "distance traveled"
data display page and a page advance request is received, then a
processor or processors of the biometric monitoring device may
cause the display to display the "next" data display page in the
sequential display order, i.e., the "calories burned" data display
page.
[0271] If a page advance request is received while the display of
the biometric monitoring device is in an off state, however, then
the processor or processors of the biometric monitoring device may
modify the sequential display order as shown in FIG. 22B by
inserting, in this case, two interim data display pages into the
sequential display order just after the data display page that was
last displayed on the display before the display entered the off
state. The interim display pages, as shown in this example, may be
duplicate instances of other data display pages in the sequential
display order. For example, the sequential display order may be
modified such that an interim "clock" data display page is the next
data display page that is displayed responsive to receipt of a page
advance request while the display is off, and such that an interim
"distance traveled" data display page--which was the data display
page that was displayed by the display when the display entered the
off state--is the next data display page that is displayed
responsive to the next page advance request to be received after
the page advance request received while the display was off.
[0272] After one or more interim data display pages have been
displayed, the sequential display order may be further modified to
remove the displayed interim data display pages from the sequential
display order. For example, after the interim "clock" data display
page is displayed, it may be removed from the sequential display
order. Thus, if all of the data display pages in the sequential
display order are advanced through without the display turning off,
then both interim data display pages shown may be removed from the
sequential display order. In effect, this causes the interim data
display pages to be shown only once while the display is in an on
state--after the initial display of the interim data display pages,
the biometric monitoring device will revert to displaying the data
display pages as shown in the sequential display order of FIG.
22A.
[0273] As mentioned with respect to FIGS. 10 through 12, in some
implementations, some data display pages may be represented by any
of a plurality of different data display subpages. For example,
FIG. 10 depicts three data display pages--a "time" data display
page, a "steps" data display page, and a "heart rate" data display
page. Each data display page shown may have, in this example, three
data display subpages. For example, the "time" data display page
has a "12-hour time" data display subpage ("12:43 pm"), a "weekday"
data display subpage "Tues"), and a "date" data display subpage
("Feb. 8, 2010"); the "steps" data display page has a "steps taken"
data display subpage ("1007 steps"), a "distance" data display
subpage ("0.5 ml"), and a "steps v. time" data display subpage (a
two-axis data plot); and the "heart rate" data display page may
have a "beats per minute" data display subpage ("97 bpm"), a "heart
rate zone" data display subpage ("Active HR Zone"), and a "heart
rate variability" data display subpage ("HR variability SDNN=70
ms").
[0274] In FIGS. 10 through 11, the data display pages/data display
subpages shown are examples of data display pages/data display
subpages that may be shown on a display of a biometric monitoring
device. Such a biometric monitoring device may be capable of
differentiating between at least two different types of input. In
response to receiving the first type of input, e.g., a button
press, the biometric monitoring device may cause the display to
advance through the sequential display order and to display, for
each data display page, the data display subpage that is indicated
as representing the data display page. For example, the "12-hour
time" data display subpage is currently representing the "time"
data display page in FIG. 10, and when a user advances to the
"time" data display page, the "12-hour time" data display subpage
would then be displayed by the display to represent the "time" data
display page. Correspondingly, when the user then advances to the
"steps" data display page, e.g., by pressing the button again, the
"steps taken" data display subpage may be displayed to represent
the "steps" data display page.
[0275] In response to receipt of the second type of input, e.g., a
double tap of an object such as a fingertip on the housing of the
biometric monitoring device, the processor or processors of the
biometric monitoring device may cause the display to advance to the
next data display subpage in a sequential subpage display order for
the currently-displayed data display page. For example, if the
"steps" data display page, represented by the "steps taken" data
display subpage, is currently shown on the display of a biometric
monitoring device and the biometric monitoring device receives the
second type of input, e.g., a double-tap on the housing of the
biometric monitoring device, the processor or processors of the
biometric monitoring device may cause the display to advance to the
"distance" data display subpage. Thus, the "steps" data display
page is still shown/represented on the display of the biometric
monitoring device, but the actual content that is displayed by the
"steps" data display page is governed by the data display subpage.
Typically, the content of the various data display subpages that
may represent a data display page is related to the data display
page that the data display subpages represent.
[0276] FIG. 23 depicts a flow diagram of a technique for navigating
data display pages and data display subpages.
[0277] Technique 2300 in FIG. 23 begins in block 2302 with a
determination as to whether a page advance request is received by
the processor or processors of a biometric monitoring device. If
the determination is made in block 2302 that a page advance request
has been received, then the technique may proceed to block 2306. In
block 2306, the sequential display order for a plurality of data
display pages may be determined. This may occur in a manner similar
to that discussed above with respect to other implementations
described herein, e.g., such as the manner described with respect
to FIG. 18. The technique may then continue to block 2308, where
the processor or processors may cause the display to advance to the
data display page that is next in the sequential display order with
respect to the data display page that is displayed when the page
advance request is received.
[0278] If a determination is made in block 2302 that a page advance
has not been received, a determination may then be made in block
2304 as to whether a subpage advance request has been received. If
the determination is made in block 2304 that a subpage advance
request has been received, then the technique may proceed to block
2310. In block 2310, the sequential subpage display order for a
plurality of data display subpages may be determined. This may
occur in a manner similar to that discussed above with respect data
display page sequential display orders in other implementations
described herein, e.g., in a manner similar to that described with
respect to data display page sequential display order as described
with respect to FIG. 18. The technique may then continue to block
2312, where the processor or processors may cause the display to
advance to the data display subpage that is next in the sequential
subpage display order with respect to the data display subpage that
is displayed when the subpage advance request is received.
[0279] If a subpage advance request is received while the data
display subpage that is last in the sequential subpage display
order is displayed, then the data display subpage that is first in
the sequential subpage display order may be treated as the next
data display subpage in the sequential subpage display order.
Alternatively, the sequential subpage display order may
reverse.
[0280] If a determination is made in block 2302 that a page advance
has not been received, then the technique may return to block 2302
and be ready to receive potential page advance requests and subpage
advance requests. Similarly, the technique may also return to block
2302 after the actions in blocks 2308 or 2312 are completed.
[0281] Generally speaking, the techniques and functions outlined
above may be implemented in a biometric monitoring device as
machine-readable instruction sets, either as software stored in
memory, as application-specific integrated circuits,
field-programmable gate-arrays, or other mechanisms for providing
system control. Such instruction sets may be provided to a
processor or processors of a biometric monitoring device to cause
the processor or processors to control other aspects of the
biometric monitoring device to provide the functionality described
above.
[0282] Unless the context (where the term "context" is used per its
typical, general definition) of this disclosure clearly requires
otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words
"comprise," "comprising," and the like are to be construed in an
inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense;
that is to say, in a sense of "including, but not limited to."
Words using the singular or plural number also generally include
the plural or singular number respectively. Additionally, the words
"herein," "hereunder," "above," "below," and words of similar
import refer to this application as a whole and not to any
particular portions of this application. When the word "or" is used
in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all
of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in
the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the
items in the list. The term "implementation" refers to
implementations of techniques and methods described herein, as well
as to physical objects that embody the structures and/or
incorporate the techniques and/or methods described herein.
[0283] There are many concepts and implementations described and
illustrated herein. While certain features, attributes and
advantages of the implementations discussed herein have been
described and illustrated, it should be understood that many
others, as well as different and/or similar implementations,
features, attributes and advantages of the present inventions, are
apparent from the description and illustrations. As such, the above
implementations are merely exemplary. They are not intended to be
exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms,
techniques, materials and/or configurations disclosed. Many
modifications and variations are possible in light of this
disclosure. It is to be understood that other implementations may
be utilized and operational changes may be made without departing
from the scope of the present disclosure. As such, the scope of the
disclosure is not limited solely to the description above because
the description of the above implementations has been presented for
the purposes of illustration and description.
[0284] Importantly, the present disclosure is neither limited to
any single aspect nor implementation, nor to any single combination
and/or permutation of such aspects and/or implementations.
Moreover, each of the aspects of the present disclosure, and/or
implementations thereof, may be employed alone or in combination
with one or more of the other aspects and/or implementations
thereof. For the sake of brevity, many of those permutations and
combinations will not be discussed and/or illustrated separately
herein.
* * * * *
References