US 11,745,042 B2
Exercise machine monitoring system for monitoring one or more exercise machines
Henrik Bengtsson, Lund (SE); Magnus Hallqvist, Lund (SE); Anders Fredlund, Lund (SE); Johan Nyman, Lund (SE); Tomas Jönsson, Lund (SE); Johan Alvå, Lund (SE); Anders Linge, Lund (SE); Johan Helgertz, Lund (SE); Johan Apelqvist, Lund (SE); Jens Rydberg, Lund (SE); and Peter Larsson, Lund (SE)
Assigned to SONY CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Appl. No. 16/957,049
Filed by SONY CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
PCT Filed Dec. 3, 2018, PCT No. PCT/SE2018/051242
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 22, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/147174, PCT Pub. Date Aug. 1, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 1850079-3 (SE), filed on Jan. 24, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2020/0342975 A1, Oct. 29, 2020
Int. Cl. A63B 21/062 (2006.01); A63B 24/00 (2006.01); A63B 71/06 (2006.01)
CPC A63B 21/0628 (2015.10) [A63B 24/0062 (2013.01); A63B 71/0619 (2013.01); A63B 2220/20 (2013.01); A63B 2220/833 (2013.01); A63B 2225/50 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A monitoring system for monitoring a plurality of exercise machines arranged in a gym, the monitoring system comprising:
a main unit configured to be arranged at a plurality of stacked weights of a first exercise machine of the plurality of exercise machines and being operable to broadcast a short-range wireless communication signal comprising main unit exercise data representative of: i) an exercise machine identity of the first exercise machine, and ii) an indication of a vertical movement of at least one of the plurality of stacked weights;
an exercise machine identifier device configured to transmit a near field wireless communication signal comprising the exercise machine identity of the first exercise machine;
an observer device configured to be arranged in the gym to receive the short-range wireless communication signal broadcast by the main unit and to generate observer device exercise data for the first exercise machine based on the received short-range wireless communication signal;
a server operatively coupled with a data storage, the server being configured to receive the observer device exercise data for the first exercise machine from the observer device and to store the received exercise data for the first exercise machine in the data storage; and
observer program code executable by an associated user device to cause the associated user device to:
receive the near field wireless communication signal comprising the exercise machine identity of the first exercise machine;
receive from the server the observer exercise data corresponding to the first exercise machine identified by the exercise machine identity;
selectively broadcast a signal that informs other associated user devices arranged in the gym that the first exercise machine of the plurality of exercise machines is occupied based on the associated user device receiving the near field wireless communication signal comprising the exercise machine identity of the first exercise machine;
receive the main unit exercise data from the main unit;
create redundant exercise data by combining the observer device exercise data with the main unit exercise data; and
present the redundant exercise data corresponding to the first exercise machine identified by the exercise machine identity, or information associated with the redundant exercise data, to an associated user of the associated user device.