United States Patent [19']
`Kato et a1.
`
`[11] Patent Number:
`[45] Date of Patent:
`
`5,033,013
`Jul. 16, 1991
`
`[54] METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
`MEASURING THE AMOUNT OF EXERCISE
`[75] Inventors: Yasuji Kata; I-Iiroyuki Kobayashi,
`both of Tokyo, Japan
`[73] Assignee: Yamasa Tokei Meter Co., Ltd., Japan
`[21] Appl. No.: 522,945
`[22] Filed:
`May 14, 1990
`
`Related US. Application Data
`Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 115,943, Nov. 2, 1987,
`
`[63]
`
`abandoned.
`
`'
`
`Foreign Application Priority Data
`[30]
`Apr. 22, 1985 [JP]
`Japan ........................... .. 60-59963[U]
`Apr. 22, 1985 [JP]
`Japan ................................ .. 60-85970
`
`[51] Int. Cl.5 ............................................ .. G01C 22/00
`[52] US. Cl. .................................. .. 364/561; 235/105;
`364/565; 364/413.01
`[58] Field of Search ............. .. 364/565, 561, 556, 415,
`364/413.01, 410, 143, 413.29; 340/323 R;
`324/171, 168; 235/105; 36_/l36.1, 44, 72 B;
`272/69, 70
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`2,882,244 4/1959 Milton .
`3,702,886 11/1972 Argauer et a1. .
`4,100,401 7/1978 Tutt et a1.
`4,192,000 3/1980 Lipsey .... ..
`
`368/10 X
`364/4l3.29
`
`4,285,041 8/1981 Smith . . . . . . .
`
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 364/415
`
`4,322,609 3/1982 Kato . . . . . . . . . . . . .
`
`. . . . . .. 235/105
`
`4,371,945 2/1983 Kan’ et a1 . . . . . . .
`. . . . . .. 235/105 X
`4,387,437 6/1983 Lowrey et a1. ............... .. 364/561
`4,402,147 9/1983 Wu ................................ .. 235/105 X
`4,460,823 7/1984 Ruehlemann ..................... .. 235/105
`4,466,204 8/1984
`4,510,704 4/1985
`4,525,074 6/1985
`4,560,861 12/1985
`
`4,560,928 12/1925 Hayward .......................... .. 324/172
`
`4,578,769 3/1986 Frederick . . . . . . .
`
`. . . ..364/565
`
`4,703,445 10/1987 Dassler . . . . . . . . . . .
`
`. .
`
`364/561
`
`4,771,394 9/1988 Cavanagh . . . . . .
`
`. . . .. 364/561
`
`4,962,469 10/1990 Ono er a1. . . . . . . .
`
`. . . .. 364/561
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`0115154 4/1980 Japan .
`Primaty Examiner-Parshotam S. Lall
`Assistant Examiner-S. A. Melnick
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Lowe, Price, LeBlanc &
`Becker
`ABSTRACT
`[57]
`A method and apparatus for accurately measuring an
`amount of exercise taken by a walker in terms of a walk
`ing speed, the distance traveled and the energy con
`sumed. Impacts made by contacts of a foot of the
`walker with the ground are detected by a detector so as
`to produce corresponding contact signals. The number
`of the contact signals in a predetermined unit of time is
`counted by a processor to obtain a pitch in the unit of
`time, and a stride of the walker is calculated from said
`pitch and the height of the walker by the processor
`according to a predetermined empirical relationship of
`ST=(0.1688 X HT)/(1—0.0174 >< PIX HT), where ST is
`the stride in meters, PI is the pitch in number of steps
`every 10 seconds, and HT is the walker’s height in
`meters. The data on said height are inputted to the
`processor beforehand. Then the stride is multiplied by
`the pitch, to obtain and display a walking speed of the
`walker in said 'unit of time. The energy, e.g., in terms of
`calories consumed by the walker, is measured by the
`method of the present invention, utilizing an empirical
`relationship of C=(0.0005XPI><WT) (when PIéIS)
`or C=(0.0013><PI—0.0126)><WT (when PI> 15),
`where C is the consumed energy in kcal in 10 seconds,
`PI is the pitch in number of steps every 10 seconds, and
`WT is the bodyweight of the walker in kg.
`
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`July 16, 1991
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`5,033,013
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`_ U.S. Patent
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`‘ July 16, 1991
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`US. Patent
`
`July 16, 1991
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`Sheet 6 of 10
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`5,033,013
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`July 16, 1991 3
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`US. Patent
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`July 16, 1991
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`5,033,013
`
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`

`US. Patent
`
`July 16, 1991
`
`Sheet 9 of 10
`
`5,033,013
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`

`

`‘ US. Patent
`
`July 16, 1991
`
`Sheet 10 of 10
`
`5,033,013
`
`
`
`11
`
`11
`
`

`

`1
`
`METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING
`THE AMOUNT OF EXERCISE
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATION
`This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S.
`application Ser. No. 115,943 ?led on Nov. 2, 1987 now
`abandoned.
`_
`
`5
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`I. Field of the Invention
`'
`This invention relates to a method and apparatus for
`measuring an amount of exercise. More particularly,~
`this invention relates to a method and apparatus for
`measuring an amount of exercise of a walker in terms of
`speed of the walker, traveling distance or in terms of
`consumed energy in calories.
`II. Description of the Prior Art
`As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,769, such an exer
`cise determination involves detection of a time t for
`which a foot of a runner comes into contact with the
`ground. On the basis of the time t, speed v, mileage l
`and consumed calories E are then calculated from the
`following empirical formulae:
`
`5,033,013
`2
`said height are inputted to the processing means before
`hand. Then the stride is multiplied by the pitch, to ob
`tain a walking speed of the walker in said unit of time,
`e. g., in meters per every 10 seconds in the given exam
`ple. The thus obtained speed of the walker in said unit of
`time is then conveniently displayed on a display.
`In a second aspect of the present invention, there is
`provided a method of measuring distance travelled by a
`walker in a unit of time. This method comprises the
`same steps as in the previously described method of
`measuring a walking speed of a walker according to the
`?rst aspect of the present invention, and further com
`prises the step of multiplying the walking speed by said
`unit of time after the walking speed is calculated to
`obtain the distance travelled by the walker in said unit
`of time. The obtained distance is then displayed on a
`display.
`According to a third aspect of the present invention,
`a method of measuring a cumulative distance travelled
`by a walker is provided. This method comprises the
`same steps as the described method of measuring the
`distance travelled by a walker according to the second
`aspect of the present invention, and further comprises
`the step of integrating the distance travelled by the
`walker in said unit of time to obtain cumulative distance
`travelled by the walker. The thus obtained distance is
`then displayed on a display.
`'
`According to a fourth aspect of the present invention,
`there is provided a method of measuring an amount of
`exercise in terms of calories of energy consumed by a
`walker in the unit of time. In this method, the pitch of
`the contacts of the foot of the walker is obtained in the
`same manner as in the previously described methods.
`The energy in terms of calories consumed by the walker
`in the chosen unit of time is then calculated from the
`calculated pitch and weight of the walker according to
`other predetermined empirical relationships. The rela
`tionships are represented by the following equations:
`
`5
`
`25
`
`E=0.98 X WXl
`
`wherein T is the elapsed time, and W is the weight of a
`runner.
`However, the known method has a disadvantage in
`that it is not possible to determine the number of steps
`taken in walking or running, because it is designed to
`detect a time length for which the foot of a runner or
`jogger is in contact with the ground, so that the speed v
`may not be accurately calculated.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to
`provide a method and apparatus for measuring accu
`rately an amount of exercise in terms of the speed of a
`walker, the distance traveled and the energy consumed
`in calories.
`-
`In one aspect of the present invention, there is pro
`vided a method of measuring a walking speed of a
`walker. In this method, impacts made by the contacts of
`a foot of the walker with the ground are detected by a
`detector so as to produce corresponding contact signals.
`The number of the contact signals in a predetermined
`unit of time is counted by processing means to obtain a
`pitch in said unit of time. Then the stride of the walker
`is calculated from said pitch and the known height of
`the walker by the processing means according to a
`predetermined empirical relationship. The empirical
`relationship is represented by the following equations:
`
`where
`ST is the stride in meters,
`PI is the pitch in number of steps every 10 seconds, and
`HT is the walker’s height in meters.
`It should be noted that the unit of time corresponding to
`the empirically determined numerical constants in the
`expression for ST cited above is 10 seconds. The data on
`
`C=(0.0005><P]X W7) (when PI; 15)
`
`where
`,
`C is the consumed energy in kcal in 10 seconds,
`PI is the pitch in number of steps every 10 seconds, and
`WT is the bodyweight of the walker in kg.
`The weight is provided to the processing means before
`hand. Then the thus obtained calories consumed are
`displayed by a display.
`According to a ?fth aspect of the present invention,
`there is provided a method of measuring an amount of
`exercise in terms of calories of cumulative energy con
`sumed by a walker in a selected session of walking. This
`method comprises the same steps as in the described
`method of measuring the amount of exercise in terms of
`calories of energy consumed by a walker in the chosen
`unit of time according to the fourth aspect of the pres
`- ent invention, and further comprises the step of inte
`grating the calories consumed in said unit of time over
`timethrough the entire walking time to obtain a cumu
`lative consumed calories. The obtained cumulative cal
`ories consumed are then displayed on a display.
`In another aspect of the present invention, there is
`provided apparatus for _carrying out the above
`described methods of the present invention. The appa
`ratus comprises a detector for detecting impacts made
`
`65
`
`12
`
`

`

`5,033,013
`4
`.
`3
`‘by the contacts of a foot of the walker with the ground
`detector so as to produce corresponding contact signals.
`to produce corresponding contact signals, means for
`The impacts may be detected by a detector which will
`processing the detected signals and means for providing
`be described later in detail.
`a display. In the processing means, the above-mentioned
`The number of the contact signals in a predetermined
`empirical relationships, as well as other necessary infor
`unit of time is counted by processing means to obtain a
`mation such as the height or weight of the walker are
`pitch in a selected unit of time.
`inputted beforehand, and the calculations mentioned in
`Then the stride of the walker from said pitch and the
`height of the walker is calculated by the processing
`the steps of the methods of the present invention are
`carried out by the processing means.
`means according to a predetermined empirical relation
`According to the present invention, the amount of
`ship. The empirical relationship according to this inven
`exercise in terms of speed of the walker, traveling dis
`tion, as determined by careful experiments is repre
`tance and the calories consumed may be'accurately
`sented by the following equation [I]:
`measured and displayed.
`'
`
`15
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`ST=(0.l688XHT)/(1—0.0I74XPIXH7)
`
`[I]
`
`where
`ST is the stride in meters,
`PI is the pitch in number of steps every 10 seconds, and
`HT is the walker’s height in meters.
`The data on said height are inputted to the processing
`means beforehand.
`This relationship was obtained empirically by con
`ducting the experiments described below, prior to
`which the following was known in the art:
`1) The speed of walking (SP) is determined by the
`stride (i.e., length of a stride) (ST) and the pitch (PI).
`That is, SP=ST><PI
`2) The stride is in?uenced by the speed, pitch and
`height of the walker.
`'
`Bearing in mind this knowledge, the following exper
`iments were conducted:
`One hundred and forty two persons were made to
`walk on a treadmill at a speed of 50-110 m/min. The
`pitch (PI) and stride (ST) of the walking, as well as the
`heights of the walkers (HT) were measured. The rela
`tionship between ST/HT and SP was plotted taking
`ST/HT along the ordinate and SP along the abscissa.
`The results are shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1,
`with a high correlation (r=0.932), the following rela
`tionship was obtained:
`‘
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`FIG. 1 graphically shows the relationship between
`stride/height and speed obtained empirically by con
`ducting experiments;
`FIG. 2 graphically shows the relationship between
`pitch and consumed calories obtained empirically by
`conducting experiments;
`FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a preferred em
`bodiment of the measuring apparatus of the present
`invention;
`FIG. 4 is a waveform diagram of signals in the block
`diagram of FIG. 3;
`_
`FIGS. 5-7 show one embodiment of a shoe into
`which the measuring apparatus of the present invention
`is incorporated, FIG. 5 being a perspective view of that
`shoe, FIG. 6 being a plan view of that shoe, and FIG. 7
`being a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 in FIG.
`6;
`FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a shoe showing an
`other embodiment, wherein the apparatus of the present
`invention is separately provided in that shoe;
`FIGS. 9 and 10 show another embodiment of the
`portable measuring apparatus of the present invention,
`FIG. 9 being a front view showing the inner structure
`thereof, and FIG. 10 being a sectional view taken along
`the line 10—-10 of FIG. 9;
`FIGS. 11 and 12 show another embodiment of the
`portable measuring apparatus of the present invention,
`FIG. 11 being a front view showing a part of the inner
`structure thereof, and FIG. 12 being an exploded per
`spective view showing a disk-like magnet utilized
`therein;
`FIG. 13 is a front view showing a part of the inner
`structure of a still further embodiment of the portable
`measuring apparatus of the present invention;
`FIG. 14 is a front view showing a part of the inner
`structure of a still further embodiment of the portable
`' measuring apparatus of the present invention; and
`FIG. 15 is a front view showing a part of the inner
`structure of still another embodiment of the portable
`measuring apparatus of the present invention.
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`It should be noted that in FIG. 1, the slope is (‘3.0029
`(i.e., 1/6 of 0.0174) because the pitch is expressed in,
`terms of number of steps per 1 minute while in equation
`[I], pitch is expressed in terms of steps per 10 seconds.
`By inserting the relationship of SP=ST><PI into the
`above equation i), the equation [I] was obtained.
`Then the stride is multiplied by the pitch, to obtain a
`walking speed of the walker in said unit of time.
`All of the above calculations may be conducted in the
`processing means. The program of the calculations may
`easily be prepared by those skilled in the art.
`The thus obtained walking speed is displayed in a
`display operationally connected to the processing
`means. The method of displaying the data processed by
`the processing means is well-known in the art.
`As mentioned earlier, in the second aspect of the
`present invention, there is provided 'a method of mea
`60
`suring distance travelled by a walker in 'a unit of time.
`This method comprises the same steps as in the method
`of measuring walking speed of a 'walker according to
`the ?rst aspect of the present invention, and further
`comprises the step of multiplying the walking speed by
`said unit of time after thewalking speed is calculated to
`obtain the distance travelled by the walker in said unit
`of time. Needless to_ say, this calculation is also most
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`The term “walker” used in this speci?cation and
`appended claims means not only literally a walking
`person but also includes a jogger and a runner. Simi
`larly, the term “walking” or “walk” not only means its
`literal meaning, but also means jogging and running.
`As mentioned above, in the first aspect of the present
`invention, there is provided a method of measuring a
`walking speed of a walker.
`In this method, impacts made by the contacts of a
`foot of the walker with the ground are detected by a
`
`65
`
`13
`
`

`

`5,033,013
`5
`6
`conveniently carried out by the processing means. The
`abscissa. The results are shown in FIG. 2. As shown in
`obtained distance is then displayed on a display.
`FIG. 2, with a high correlation (r =0.897), the follow
`According to the third aspect of the present inven
`ing relationship was obtained:
`tion, a method of measuring a cumulative distance trav
`elled by a walker is provided. This method comprises
`the same steps as the method of measuring the distance
`travelled by a walker according to the second aspect of
`the present invention, and further comprises the step of
`integrating the distance travelled by the walker in said
`unit of time for the entire session of walking to obtain
`the corresponding cumulative distance travelled by the
`walker. This calculation is also carried out by the pro
`cessing means. The thus obtained distance is then dis
`played on a display. By this method, even when the
`walker is on the way to his or her destination, the dis
`tance travelled at any intermediate time during the
`journey can be known. Needless to say, after the walker
`reached his or her destination, the total distance trav
`elled from the starting point to the destination can also
`be known.
`According to the fourth aspect of the present inven
`tion, a method of measuring an amount of exercise in
`terms of calories of energy consumed by a walker is
`provided. In this method, the pitch of the contacts of
`the foot of the walker is obtained in the same manner as
`25
`in the methods according to the ?rst to third aspect of
`the present invention. The energy in terms of calories
`consumed by the walker in said unit of time is then
`calculated from said pitch and the weight of the walker
`according to a predetermined empirical relationship.
`The relationship is represented by the following equa
`tions [II] and [III]:
`
`c/W=o.o013 >< PI- 0.0126
`
`iii)
`
`10
`
`By multiplying the equation with the bodyweight, equa
`tion [III] was obtained. It should be noted that the aver
`age and the standard deviation of the pitch in equation
`[III] were as follows:
`Average of Pitch: 23.9 (number of steps/l0 seconds)
`Standard Deviation: $4.78
`Thus, from the distribution, 90% of the pitch is included
`in the range of 15.6-32.4. To obtain an equation by
`which the consumed calories when the pitch is less than
`16 may be obtained, the C/W per single step was mea
`sured. As a result, the C/W per step was determined to
`be 0.0005 kcal/kg/step.
`
`C/W/step=0.0005
`
`iv)
`
`By multiplying equation iv) with the bodyweight and
`the pitch, equation [II] was obtained, as shown in FIG.
`2
`
`The data of the walker’s bodyweight are provided to
`the processing means beforehand. Then’ the thus ob
`tained calories consumed in the unit time are displayed
`by a display.
`According to the ?fth aspect of the present invention,
`a method of measuring an amount of exercise in terms of
`calories of cumulative energy consumed by a walker is
`provided. This method comprises the same steps as in
`the method of measuring the amount of exercise in
`terms of calories of energy consumed by a walker in the
`unit time according to the fourth aspect of the present
`invention, and further comprises the step of integrating
`the calories consumed in said unit of time over time
`through the entire walking time to obtain a cumulative
`?gure for the consumed calories. This calculation is also
`conducted by the processing means. The obtained cu
`mulative consumed energy is then displayed on a dis
`play. By this method, even when the walker is on the
`way to his or her destination, the calories consumed
`within an intermediate time can be known. Likewise,
`after the walker reached his or her destination, the total
`calories consumed during the walking from the starting
`point to the destination can also be known.
`In another aspect of the present invention, there is
`provided apparatus for carrying out the above
`described methods of the present invention. The appa
`ratus comprises a detector for detecting impacts made
`by the contacts of a foot of the walker with the ground
`to produce corresponding contact signals, processing
`. means and a display.
`A preferred embodiment of the apparatus for measur
`ing the amount of exercise of the present invention will
`now be described referring to FIGS. 3 and 4.
`FIG. 3 is a block diagram. illustrating a preferred
`embodiment of the apparatus according to the present
`‘invention. The apparatus comprises a detector gener
`ally indicated by the reference numeral 100, processing
`means generally indicated by the reference numeral 106
`and a display means 120 of known type.
`The detector 100 includes a switch 102 de?ning a
`detector element designed to detect impacts made by
`the contacts of the foot of a walker with the ground, i.e.,
`the steps of the walker. The resulting contact signals are
`transmitted to a wave-form recti?er 108 with a trans
`
`C=(0.0013 XPI-0.0l26)>< WT(when PI> 15)
`
`[III]
`
`35
`
`where
`C is the consumed energy in’kcal in 10 seconds,
`PI is the pitch in number of steps every 10 seconds, and
`WT is the bodyweight of the walker in kg.
`This relationship was obtained empirically by conduct
`ing the experiments described below, prior to which the
`following was known in the art:
`1) The energy demand in walking is determined by
`the speed and the bodyweight of the walker.
`2) The speed of walking (SP) is determined by the
`stride (i.e., length of a stride) (ST) and the pitch (PI).
`That is, SP=STX PI
`_
`3) The oxygen demand is not much increased by
`enlarging the stride, but is sharply increased by increas
`ing the pitch. This is because an increase in the pitch
`requires a rapid compression of the walker’s muscles.
`4) The consumed calories per bodyweight (C/W)
`(kcal/kg) is obtained by
`
`45
`
`C/W= VO2X4.99
`
`ii)
`
`wherein V0; is the oxygen consumption. Bearing in
`mind the knowledge per 1) to 4), the following experi
`ments were performed:
`Seventy three persons were made to walk and run on
`a treadmill at a speed of 50-110 m/min and 100-220
`m/min. The pitch (PI) and oxygen consumption (V 02),
`as well as the bodyweight of the walkers (W), were
`measured. The consumed calories per bodyweight
`(C/W) was calculated from the above-described equa
`tion ii). The relationship between C/W and PI was
`plotted taking C/W along the ordinate and PI along the
`
`14
`
`

`

`10
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`20
`
`5,033,013
`8
`7
`the ?ne copper wires 138 and the ?lm substrate 140 via
`mission circuit directly or, optionally, through a trans
`the pressure-conductive rubber 142, so that a current
`mitter 104 attached to the detector 100 by way of a
`providing the contact signals ?ows.
`wireless receiver 110 attached to the processing means
`The shoe 130 is provided on its instep 144 with a
`106.
`processor-display combination 148 wherein a micro
`The processing means 106 includes a wave-form rec
`processor serving as processing means is integral with a
`ti?er 108; receiver 110 which may be used, if required;
`display 146 using a liquid crystal, etc. The current act
`a reference pulse generator 112; an AND circuit for
`ing as the contact signals is sent to the processor-display
`receiving therein a signal transmitted from the recti?er
`combination 148 to measure the number of steps per
`108 and the generator 112; and an operation processor
`118 for receiving therein a pulse processed in the circuit
`unit time. The above-described calculations are made
`by the microprocessor and the resulting speed in the
`114. The processor 118 also receives the empirical
`unit time, the traveling distance in the unit time, the
`above-described calculation formulae and date on the
`cumulative traveling distance, the calories consumed in
`height and bodyweight of the walker previously stored
`in a condition-setting memory 116, for comparison and
`the unit time, or the cumulative consumed calories are
`calculation purposes and then transmits a variety of the
`then displayed on the display 146.
`'
`FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the measuring
`resulting processed values to the display 120.
`apparatus of the present invention, which is shown to be
`According to the described method for determining
`the amount of exercise with such apparatus, the switch
`mounted on a shoe. In addition to a press switch 136, a
`102 of the detector 100 ?rst detects the impacts given by
`shoe 130 includes in, for instance, its heel portion 184 a
`radio frequency transmitter 182 having a transmitting
`the contacts of the foot of the walker with the ground,
`portion 180 for transmitting the contact signals. In this
`i.e., the steps of the walker, and contact signals are
`embodiment, with the signals transmitted from the
`produced. The resulting contact signals of a wave-form
`transmitter 182, the amount of exercise can be measured
`as shown in FIG. 4(2) are sent to the wave-form recti
`by a separately provided processor-display combination
`fier 108 of the processing means 106.
`wherein a display 120 is integral with processing means
`As shown in FIG. 3 by a solid line, the contact signals
`160 illustrated in FIG. 3 and provided with a receiver
`may be sent directly to the wave-form recti?er 108,.
`110, the combination being designed to be carried or
`Alternatively, they may be transmitted thereto from the
`held by either the walker or by another person.
`radio frequency transmitter 104 of the detector 100 by
`A description will now be provided of an embodi
`way of the radio frequency receiver 110 of processing
`ment of the portable measuring apparatus of the present
`means 106, as shown in FIG. 3 by a dotted line.
`1
`invention, which is attachable to the waist of a walker.
`The contact signals sent to the wave-form recti?er
`FIG. 9 is a front view of the inner structure of that
`108 are recti?ed there to a rectangular wave as shown
`embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken
`in FIG. 4(3), and this is in turn sent to the AND circuit
`along the line 10-10 in FIG. 9.
`114 of processing means 106 along with a reference
`The measuring apparatus according to the third em
`pulse, shown in FIG. 4(1), which is generated from the
`bodiment of the apparatus of the present invention in
`reference pulse generator 112 of processing means 106.
`cludes in casing 200 a detector 202 for sensing the im
`The rectangular wave and reference pulse are then
`pacts given by the contacts of the foot of a walker with
`processed in the AND circuit‘ 114, and are sent to the
`operation processor 118 of processing means 106 in the
`the ground when he or she walks, and a processor 204
`for calculating and data on various amounts of exercise
`form of a pulse as shown in FIG. 4(4).
`In the operation processor 118, the pulse sent thereto
`in response to a contact signal transmitted from the
`detector 202, and has on the upper portion of the casing
`is processed as described above, and the speed, cumula
`200 a display 206 for displaying the various amounts of
`tive traveling distance or the cumulative calories con
`exercises.
`sumed may be calculated by the computer 118. The
`The detector 202 corresponds to the detector 100
`resulting value is sent to the display 120 and is displayed
`thereby.
`shown in FIG. 3, and includes a pendulum 208 swinging
`in response to contact signals, a ratchet gear 210 rotat
`One embodiment of a shoe having the aforesaid appa
`ing in operable association with the pendulum, a magnet
`ratus incorporated therein will now be explained with
`212 rotating in unison with the ratchet gear 210 and a
`reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.
`-
`‘reed switch 214 opened and closed by the magnet 212.
`FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a shoe, FIG. 6 is a plan
`The pendulum 208 includes an arm 216 and a weight
`view of the shoe, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken
`along the line 7-7 in FIG. 6. A shoe generally indi
`218 attached to one of the arm 216. A substrate 220 built
`in the casing 200 is provided on its lower portion with
`cated by reference numeral 130 includes an insole 132
`a support portion 222 for supporting the pendulum 208.
`and a sole 134, and a big toe portion located therebe
`The support portion 222 includes two supporting plates
`tween. The big toe portion is provided with a press
`226 and 228 which arespaced away from each other by
`switch 136 which is one example of the switch of the
`pins 224. The supporting plate 226 is ?xedly provided
`detector for detecting the impacts given by the contacts
`on the lower portion of the substrate 220. Between both
`of the foot with the ground to send out contact signals.
`supporting plates 226 and 228, there is a shaft 230 to
`As illustrated in FIG. 7, the switch 136 comprises a
`pressure-conductive rubber element 142 ?xedly inter
`which the other end of the arm 216 is rotatably sup
`ported. The shaft 230 also supports the ratchet gear 210
`posed between a pair of electrodes formed by a bundle
`and a magnet holder 232 rotating in unison with the
`of ?ne copper wires 138 and an electrically conductive
`gear 210.
`?lm substrate 140. Pressure-conductive rubber is a well
`known rubber which is changed to become electrically
`The pendulum 208 is locked at one end to the arm 216
`and at the other end to the supporting plate 228, and is
`conductive when a predetermined pressure is applied
`designed to be regulated in respect of its sensitivity by _
`thereto, and is commercially available from, for exam
`ple, Bridgestone of Tokyo, Japan. Due to a load applied
`means of a spring 234 arranged to form a loop. To keep
`the width of swinging of the pendulum 208 constant, the
`on the foot, conduction is made between the bundle of
`
`55
`
`65
`
`15
`
`

`

`15
`
`25
`
`30
`
`5,033,013
`10
`supporting plate 228 is provided with stopper portions
`sensor 260 used in lieu of the reed switch 214 shown in
`FIG. 91 to send a contact signal to a processor.
`236 and 238 on its lower and upper portions. Moreover,
`The disk magnet 250 including a polar plate having
`the arm 216 of pendulum 208 is provided with a feed
`pawl 240 for rotating the’ ratchet gear 210, making use
`on its circumference an alternate array of a number of N
`and S poles is obtained by ?tting metal plates 254 and
`of swinging thereof. On the other hand, the supporting
`256, each having on its circumference bent pieces de?n
`plate 228 is provided with a pawl 242 for preventing
`ing pole pieces, over a disk-like magnet 252 and an S
`reversal of the ratchet gear 210.
`pole on the other side. As shown in FIG. 12, use of such
`The magnetic holder 232 is provided on the outer
`a disk magnet 250 permits the porcelain sensor 260 to
`periphery with the magnets 212 and 212 in a diametri
`effect sophisticated detection, for instance the detection
`cally opposite direction. The reed switch 214 is dis
`of each step.
`posed on the substrate 220 in the vicinity of