Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
WO 91/09374 PCr/U~sO/07579
~719~
5 ~he pres~3nt in~ention i8 directed to an ex2rcise and video
ga~la d~vice, and ~orQ particularly to an a~robic exsrcise
and vid~o ga~lQ devic~ to encouragQ pQopl~ to com~ence and
continu~ an a$robic ~xerc:ise progr~.
10 It i~ gon~rally acc~pt~d today that aQrobic exercise
promot~a cardiovascular ~i~ne~s~. Ex~rci~e increa~es the
continuou~ ~lo~ o~ blood ~rough th~ h~a~t and large
SkQletal ~IU~Ci6~, incr~a~ing thQir ~fac~iv~ne~s~, ~ore
impartantly, exerci~ h~lp~ ht, or prQv~nt,
15 athero~clero~i~ (narrowing of ar~r~s) and coronary hear~:
dis~a~e.
It han bQ~n ~stimatQd that 50~ o~ all peopl~ whn ~tart an
~xerci~e progra~ f~il to kQ~p ~xQrcising beyond three
20 ~or~th Though ther~ c~n be many r~ason~. ~or thi~ drop out
~atQ, a pri~ary r~a~orl 1~ probably the tediou~ natur~ of
ex~rs~ pro~a~.
Th~ i~troductio~ ~d rapid acc~ptanco o~ ~ideo ga~ne~ over
2S tho l~t t~ y~ ha~r~, to ~ gr~at ~xtent, alt~red th~
t~adltion~l gala~ marX~t, c~rtainly w~th regard to the
young~r g~n~ration~ inh~Atly addictiYe xlature of
VidOEo ga~aQ3 ( i . ~ .,, one ha~ to play rQp~atedly to gain
su~ici~nt ~kills to progr~ss through all thQ leval3 o~
" : ~
WO91/09374 2~ 93 P(T/US90/07579
P1aY3 ha3 PrObab1Y CaU. 0d thOtil2 that P1aY them tO shun the
traditiOna1 bOard ga~e~O
The pre~Qnt invention int~grate~ th~ ap~ation o~ a video
5 galaQ with an ~xerci~la pro~ra~, in the hop6~ that tho8e WhO
USe ~i~ inVentiOn W~ 1nd that ~h~ addiCtiVe natUre Of
tl~2 Vid~O ga~ Wi11 k~P th~ VO1V~d 1~rIqe~
ex~rci~ pr~ra~20
1Q VideO game~ arQ U~11a11Y COn~trUC:ted W~ U1tiP1Q 1eVe1~,
eaCh 1Ç~re1 b~irSg PrOgr~88iVe1Y hard~r tO COmP1~t~ than thQ
PreViOU~ On~- FOr prO~CQ~E18 tO OCCUr khrOugh a11 t~8 1~VQïB
Of the ga~, th6l ga~lQ pl yQr 21U~ 1earn hi~ ~ray thEOUgh thQ
ga~. T~1~ O1~t~I r~qUir~3 r~Peated tr1e~ at eaCh 1e~e1,
15 with a ~coring ~y~ recordiJlg ~he prog~ achi~ved.
E:f~ctiY~ ~itne~s routin~ ha~ many of the
charactsri~ti~ of ~i~oo game~ . Not only i~ f itn~s~
achiaved t:hrough repaat~d exerei$e, but onc~a the ~xarciser
g~t~ us~d to ~ particular l~ al o~ OE~C~rc~, further
20 incr-a~as in t:h~ 19~al 0~ ~itnl~ ar2 achiev~d only i~ the
workout lav~l ~3eco~ progr~si~ly h~Lrder and ~h~a ws:~rXs:~ut
tis~ hard~r l~v~l i8 '~ nCriE~a~Qd. T~ art3c~ss
conti~u~s until th8 ~x~rcis~r r3ach~ the d~ ir~d ~tandard
~ fitn~s~n.
For ~xaDIplo~ it wollîd be ve~ u~liX~ly, and also imprudent,
for an in~$Yidual ~ho ~8 not ~it to atte!~pt a ~arathon on
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WO 91/09374 PCl'/US90/07579
3 2~ 9~3
th~ rst day of a ~itnes8 program. 8i~ilarly, it is
nearly impo~ible for an inexperienced video player to
atte~pt the ultimate l~vel o~ experti~ at his f irs~
attempt at th2 game. Both the exercis~ progra~ and the
5 video ga~ play must b~ progre~sed through layered levels
o~ increa~ing di~ic~lty, each one taking perhaps a longer
period o~ ti~, so that ~ach l~rel i8 p~rfected 37e~ore th~
next lev~l is atte~pt~d.
10 Combining ex~rci~ing progra~s and video ga~lllQ playin~a, with
th~ heart rat~ o~ ~he ga~s piaye!!r controlling the speed of
~lQ vid~o game, would not only ~aake exerci~ing 1~3~33
tedious, ~ut would ~n~ur~ that ~ exerci~ar does not over-
Qxert hila~el~.
Va~riou~ patent~ haY~ att~pted to int~grats vid~o ga~e3
with ~x~rc:i~e ~quip~nt~ pri~ ocll~ o~ th~a pat~nt~
being to ~n~ur~ that t}le routirlQ of ~xerc:~se is made les
onQrou~.
U.S~ ~at~n~ No. ~o720~789 to Hector di clo~e~ a video gam~,
or ar~ ~xarci~ sy~t~ utilizing a vid~o di~play, wh~ch i~
played by laovement og thQ gaD~13 playor's ~t. Th~ ~pp2lxen~
ob~ ~ctiv~ ~ 5 'to requir~ th~ y~m~ play~r tQ exerci~ while
25 playing th~ gaDIEa by movin~ hiE~ ~eat. ~obrQver, the game
play~r i~ rQquir~d to mov~ at th~ ga~n~ ' 3 ~peed. The game
WO 9ItO9374 PCI'/US9~/0757~
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11l no way alter~ to con~oxm to the individual ' g ~itness
1~1 .
U.S. Patent No. 4,711,447 o Man field integrate~ an
5 exercis~ snachina with a video 5~am2. ~0 play the game, the
opera~or 13 r~quir~d to DIOV~ a re iBtanca creating
a3~a~1y, and in doing 80, exereisQ3. A with th~ prevlou~
pat:ent, no atte~pt i5 ~ade to ad~ust the video g;~ne to the
play~r ' s~ fltn~s level .
,, .
U.S. Patent No. 4,278,095 to Iap~yre di clo$~ an exercis~
d~2v~cla conn~cted to a vldeo Dlachine. Tha ape~d o~
exercl3e d~vice, and th~ accompanying ~rideo di~play, i~
controll~d by th~ ex~ is~r. A~ th~ exerci~r ~ al~ an
15 iner~a~e in ~p~d to ths ~x~rci~e d~vice, an acco~panying
~ignal i~ ~ent to the video machirle, 80 that tha ~xerciser
i~ pr~ atad with a Vi8U21l dispîay o~ 'che increa~ in
~p~ed. Th~ ~xerci~er ' 8 he~rt rat~ nitored and
di~played a T.V. ~onitor.
IJ.8. Pat~nt No. 4,512,56? to Phillips i3 direct~d to an
~c~r~:is~ ~ cycle u~d go op~at~ a ~ridec gam~. The ga~
pl~yer r~caiva~ ~xer~ise wh~ 1Q o~a~r~ting t~ ~icycl~, and
at ~ tian~ 0ving thQ han~l~b~r3. The vld~o ga~ne
25 op~at~ at a pre~t sp~d, ~au~ ng no allowancQ for
of t~OE player.
WO 91/09374 5 PC~/US~tO7579
2 ~
U.5. PatQnt No. 4,630,817 to Buckley i~ directed to an
ex~rc:is~ ~achine which allows ~or ~o~re2n~nt o~ . control
rod, e.g. a handlebar, to provide two dlsgreee o~ ~r~edcm to
a controllabl~ charact~r in a Yideo di~play. R~si~tance is
5 provide to th8 handlebar ts ensur~ t phy ical exertion
i required by the u~er.
U.S. Patent No. 4,709,917 to YansJ di~clo~es an exerci~e
de~ricQ whlch $~ furniqh~3d with an ~ troni~ display or a
10 D~chanical bQlt for ~mulating road con~itlons~. A
~icroproce~sor control~ position o~ the exerci~e
bicycle wit~ respect ~o t~ ~c13n~ baing di~play~d and t}~
~unning ~p~d o~ the xoad condition ~imul~tion.
15 Th~ int~nt ole all the~ p~t6~nts i8 to int~grateJ ex~:rcis~
wi~ vid~o di~play. ~o~ve~rt ~3xcept ~or thQ Lap~ a UoS~
Patent No. 4,278,095 which d.~lpl~y8 th~ heart rate, non~ of
~e~ ~uggQs~t Dlonitoring thQ hoart rat2 o~ th~ ex~rai~r.
Furth~nno~" non~ o~ th~ a~pa~ to di~ lo.e any ~æan~ ror
20 altQring tho ~p~d or .ak~ll lav~l o~ the oppo~tion in a
vid~o d~play in ro~pon~e to thQ output level o~ tha
~X~ d~icQ ~alli~g outsid~ a pres~t rans~a.,
: :; '' . , : , ~ ,,. .. ' . , ' ,'
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WO 91/09374 ~ ,t~ PCI/VS90/07S79
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- In accordanc~ with 'che pre ~nt inYent:ion, a
co~nbinat~on ~xercise de~tice and gam~ apparatu~ i!3 provided.
~he apparatus according to the invention co~prises an
S eXerCi8Q d~vice ~or aeroblc activity and ~nea~ ~or ~ensing
th~ aeroblc actiYity lev~l of a user of said exerci~e
d~vic~ and ~or outputting an ctivity level ~ignal having
a char~ct~rl~tic ~ndlcatiYe o~ 3ald act~vity lavel. The
apparatu~ ~urther co~pri~es a vid~o gamQ having at lea~t
10 one u~er op~rat~d control ~or conl:rolling the ac:tiorl3 Or at
l~a8t one player, r~gulating m~an~ for r~gulatlng the
relative action~ o~ ~3aid on~ player and ona o~ an
oppositi3n pi~c~ or obstacl~, diE~play ~n~ for di~playing
Q OnQ play~r and th~ on~ o~ said opposi;t~ on piece or
lS ob3tacl~ and whe~o~n said regulat~ng Daean~ rend~r~ ~he
~id~o ga~ aor~ di~icult for th~ on~ player relativll3 to
l:ho oppo~i~ion pi~c~ or obstac:l~ in respon~ to acti~rity
indic:at~d by the activity l~vel ~ignal
cha~act~ tic, ~alling below ~ ~ir~t pr~dQtQrDIin~d l~r~l.
$h~ ox~rci~ d~c~ can b~ an ~x~rci~e bicycle, tread~ill
or sta~r cli~ing d~YiC~, ~or ex~mpl~ mean~ for
~en~ing l:h~ aerobic activity l~Yel can be ~ezm~ ~or ~erl~ing
~5 ~el he2lrl: ratQ o~ t:ha u~r o~ x~rci230 d~vice, or car
be ~ anQ ~or ~ensing th~ output o~ thQ ~x~rci~e devica-
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WO 91~0937~ PCr/US90/07579
7 2 ~ 3
q h~ regulating mean~ may further increa~ the speed of the
oppo~sition piQCQ or ob~tacle relat~v~ to th~ QnQ player in
r~pons~ to the heart rate Or the u~er ~alling b~low the
fir t predet~rmined l~v~l. ThQ fir~t prQdeter~ined level
5 D~ay c:orra~pond to the ~ini~u;~ a~ro~ c activity level for
the user, which can b~ ~lect~d according to the userls
age. The regulatirlg meanY ~ay prefera}~ly render the video
ga~e le~s difficult to the ona player ln re~pon~e to the
activity level exce~ding a ~econd pred~termined level,
10 wher~ thff ~econd predetermined l~rel i~3 greater t:han said ~-~
first pred~te~mined l~tel. I~ho ~econd predetermin~d level
pref2ra~1y corresponds to the ~axi~ h~arl: rate o~ the
u~er in an opti~um ~robic ~x~rcis~ rangQ,
15 I~ th~ r~lating Dl~n~ 1~ r~ponsi~r~ to th~ u~er ' ~ heart
rat~ and tha ~ or s~nsing al~o sen.e~ th~ output o~
x~rcisQ d~avic~, the apparatu~ may b~ arranged ~o that
tA~ sp~ed o~ ~o player and t~3~ oppo~ition pi~ce or
o~ tacl2 bot2~ iras:rsa~e or do6~a~, r~sp~cti~r~ly, in
20 ~e~pon~ to tha lncr~ sr d~cr~ e, r~3p~ tiYely, o~ the
ou~put o~ th~ e~XQ~Ci~ da~ic~ di3play m~ ay
di~play th~ hQi!lrt: rat~ o~ ~ Ui3~Q:r, and/or th~ output level
o~ th~ ex~rci~ d~v~ca.
~5
Accor~ing to anoth~r asp~ct o~ in~ent~on, a game
apparatu~ u~eablQ with an ~xQrc$s~ d~vic~ i~ provi~ed
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WO g~/09374 PCr/US~OtO7579
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compris~ng ~eans ~or sens~ing t~se aerobic as:tivity level o~
a u~r of asl ~xarciao davic~ and ~eor outputtlng an activity
level ~ignal having a charact~ri~tic indi~atlY~ of said
activi~y lev~l, and a video ga~e having at lea~t one u~er
5 op2rated control ~or controlling 1:h~ action~ o~ at l~ast
ona player, display means or displayi~g th~ one player ar~d
th~ one o~ ~aid oppo~ition pieca o~ ob~tac~, and wh~rein
~aid regulating mean~ rend~r~ the video ~a~e fflor~ di~icult
for thQ one player relatlve to th~ oppo~ltion piece or
lo obstacl~ in ~esponse to activity levs~l, as ir~dicatsd by the
activil:y le~rel ~ignal characteri~tic, ~allirlg belsw first
predater~ined l~el.
Acco~ding to anothcr a~p~ct Or ~a inv~ntion, an ~xercis~
15 motivation app~ratu~ i~ provid~d which i~ us~z~lo with an
~x~rc:i3~ d~vic~ and a vld~o ga~ ha~ing at l~a~t one us~r
opQrated oontro,l ~or c:ontrolling th~ a~ion~ oP at lQas~
ona player, and which control~s the r~lative action~ said
o~ pl ay~r an~l o~ one of an oppo~itiLon pi~ Q or sbstacl~,
20 an~ which display~ th~ on~ playar and t~l3 on~ oP ~aid
oppol~ition p~ac~ or obstacl~, co~apr~ing ~an Por s~nsing
t~ a~robi~: acti~ity lev~l of a u~ of a;~ exerc~s& device,
and for outputti~g an ~CtiYity 1~Y~1 ~ignal hav~ ng a
chara¢taristic indicat~ VQ OE ~aid activity l~v~l ~nd
25 r~gulalt~ ng m~an~ for r2ndsring thQ vid~o gam~ more
di~ficult ~or th~ on~ player relat~v~ ~co th~ oppo~ition
p~c~ or obE~tacl~ in re~pon~ to activity l~v~l, a3
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WO 91/0937~ PCr/US~/0~57~
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lndic:ated by the activity leYel ~ignal characteri3tic
falling b~low a f'ir~t pred~termin~d level.
In accordanc~ with one ~onn o~ the pre~ent i~vention, a
5 con~oller, with three inputs, ia integrated with a video
ga~e. The fir~t input i~ ~rc~ a ~pl3ed sen~or connected to
an ~x~xci~ ~achinQ. Th~ ~p~d ~en~bc~r ~ea~5ure the sE~eed
with which an ex2rci~e machinQ i~ ~eing u~ed. Th~ ~econd
input is fro~ a h~a3~: rat~ ~onitor that i~ attached to the
10 p~r~on u~ing th~ ox~r~ achineO ~el ~:hird inpu~ ro~
.
a ~oystick that is op~r~t~d by th~ ~xerci er.
.
In ~ tanda~d ~orm~t o~ a ~id~o g~, a ga~ play~r,
u~ing ~o~ fo~ o~ ~oy~tic~ uv~r~ a play~r or playing
15 pi~c~ in ~ ~orm e3~ an ob~ct (the ~ource) through the
ga~ne, ent:ountering on~ or ;llore opposition piecla~ and/or
variotls o}l~t~cles 801112ti~ e5 called villa~ns to hi~ progress
~long the way. lPn~ obg~tacl~as are u~ually de~gned to
deE~troy th~ gaDI~ pl~y~r'~ pi~c~. l~e 80urce and villains'
2 0 spQ~d ~ pr~t in the ga~ co~put~r ~ourcQ code . I~ach
g~ continu~ un'cil all th~ g~ pl~yer's ~ 3 h~va bQ~n
u~ p. ~ point c:oun~ing ~y~t~ Dl~a~ur~s th~2 gaDI~
play~ progrQ~ through th~ g~ u~d h~rein ~he
t~r~ play~r ref~rs to th~ playing pi~c~ control~:~d by the
25 6~xerci~r, and can b~ an ob~t o~ ~vea~ a weapon a~ ~hown
on tIlB Yid~o display. ~h~ ter~ oppo~ition or obstac:le
any playing pi~c~ which ~QnrQs a~ an obfi~acle,
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2.~ 10
oE~pO8 on or adv~r~ary to ths play~r and s:an be a target
playe~r i3 a weapon. Of cour~e, th3 player can be a
. taxget, in Which ca e th~ oppo~i~ion may ba or m~y hava a
waapon.
In thi8 invention, the D~echa3lics o~ vid~o gamQ ar~
alt~red to integ~at2 an ind~.vidual~ ~axerci5a routineO The
speQd ~e 80urc@~ lIlOVefil 'I n the~ vid~o ga~ det~r~in~d by
t~ sp~d that th~ exercis~r i~3 u~ing the exerci~
10 ~quip~nt. Thi~ i8 ~a~a3u~d~ by the ~p~ed ~e~or.
.. . .
Directional ~ov~m~nt Or the ~ourc~ ~ay 3:~ contxolled u~ing
a standard ~ oy3tick. ThQ 3p~d o~ villain i~
d~terminQd according to the gaDIQ player ~ 8 pul~a, recorded
with the~ hQart rate morlitorl, :
:-
An Qx~r~i~ar, prtor to co~ncinq a workout~ inputs hi.
agR, and th~ pr~l~err~d durat~ on o~ hi~ ~a~-up and work-
o~t . Accordi~g to a pr~Qt ~o~ ula ~ the c:ontroller sets
upper and low~ h~ar~ r~t~ ~o~ dur~l;iorl of th~3
20 ~ci~e ~o~tin~. ThlB8~ h~rt r~te~ Dlay b~ ~v~rridden by
u~r input. Onc~ x~rcis~r comDl~nce~ thQ Qx~2rciss
~eou~in~, th~ controllQr continually ch~ck2~ pul~ of ~e
~ax~rci~or again~t thç~ u~p-ar and lo~rer optiDn 1 ~xerc~3e
heart ratQ~ ~or that ind~riduai~ 'chEe hearl: rata fa1ls
25 outsids the~ pr~3~t li~it~s or ~ands~ at a~ t~n~ throughou~
x~rci~3~ rout~ n~ th~ ~pe~d O~ ga~e ~ ~ alter6~d .
WO 91/09374 Pl:~/US90/U7579
11 2 ~ 3
elre thQ video game i8 Pac-~an, l~or examplQ, if 'che heart
~ate oI~ th~ exerGi~ing ind~v~dual ~all~ b~low 'ch~ pre~et
miniDIu~ opti~al heart rate, the vlllain~ in this game the
t;oblln, would ~ove ~aster than its norD~al sp~d. This
5 ~ ~hould prompt th~a gams player to speed up on th~ exercise
~achin~, thareby increa~ing the 3peed o~ the ~ource, called
th~ Pac-man, to Qscap~ the Goblin.
The pri~ary o~ct of thQ inv~ntion i~3 to k~ep people
10 ~ot~ratQd to ~x~rc~3e, and part~ cul~rly to ex~rci~a ~ithin
an ol?timal range o~ heaxtb~at~ p~ ainu~e . S inc- ~he
exe~ci~er will becoma fitt~r over tiDle~ ths speed of th~
ex~rc~sa machin~ ~e~d~d ~o Xeep th~ h~rt rat~ within the
optilaal a~robic rang~ would increa~. The vid6~0 game
15 c:orltinually ~otivat~ gala~ play~r to ~Dai~tain ae~o:bio
f~ic~ency.
vid~o gaDIe n~ay include a di~play such as~ a bar graph,
indicatins th~ p~e~nt he~r~ ra~ nd it~ r~lation ~o ~he
20 n~in~um a~d ~aximu~ li~it~.
Fur~r ob~ect~ and a~vantag~ will b0coDIe apparant in
co%~unction with th~ ~oll~wing de1~ d d~cription, claims
and accomp~nying dra~ings.
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WO 91/0~374 ~ ~ 7 ~ PCI/US9;)/07579
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3~1g. 1 i9 a block diagra~ o~ ~n exexci 8 and video game
devic~ acGording to the inventiorl with controll~r and input
S devicQE~,
~lg. 2 lllu~trat~ the opt~ hQ21~ ratz during aerobic
~x~rcise,
10 ~lg. 3 i~ an ~xa~ple o~ an op~ al ~xlarc$~ routine~ ~or a
3 0 ye r old $ndividual, and
~19~ a ~lowc~art o~ ic oi~ a ~rid~o ga~lQ arranged
ac:cording to the ~mrention that acc~pts inl?ut fro~n the
15 sp~ed s~nE~or ~nd h~art ~onitor.
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Figur~ 1 is a block diagra~ o~ a video game includes a
video di~play 10, a ~ic:roproc~ or 12, rando~a acce~3~ data
5 meDlory ~4~ a vid~o GontrollQr 16, read only 1~18~110ry ~.~1 for
storin~ progra~, and a hand operated ~ oystic3c and other
controls or input~ 20 . The hand operat2d ~oy~tick 20 may
also ~e ln ~he ~orm Or an x-dlr~ction control which is
mountad on th6~ ex2rci~e ~achi~ 28 for operation by on~ o~
10 th~a u3~r'~ hand~, and a y-directlon con~rol mount~d ~or thla
other us~r ' s hand~ . Als~o shown ar~ a ~p~d s~ns~sr 2~,
connQct~d to an exerci~Q machinQ 2S, ( rOr exampl~s an
ex~arci~ bicy~l~, traad~ill or 3ta~r cli~nb$ng Qxercis~r~,
and a heart rata ~onitor 28, which i~ u~Qd ~:o ~nea~ur~a the
15 pu15~ 0~ tha ~xerci~er 30, i . ~ u~r o~ th~ ~xercise
~achin~. Th~ sp~d o~ rclsa bicycl~ and th~ pulse
rate ars pa~ed via thQ input int~ri~ac~ 22 to the giame
~ic~op~oce~sior ~2~,
20 B~i~orQ d~ us~ing th~ op~ration Or ~ pre~Qrred ~mbodiment
and progr~ op~ratiog~ ac~:ording to ~s flo~:hart in Fig. 4,
di~cus~on o:e a ~ c~ no~ progr2~ will he given
~ir~t.
2~ Physic~ an~ rec:o~end th;~1: aQro3~ic ~3x~rci~e sihould be
~aintain~d~ f or a p~riod o~ tw~nty ~inutG~ at least ~hree
ti~es per we~k. $h~ opt~aal 16~VQ1 0~ ~ct~rity i~ ~or
WO 91/09374 Pcr/uS9O/07579
9 3 14
exer~ Q to increa~ th~ pul~e rate to betw~en 70% and 80-
85~ o~ ~xi~u~ attainabl~ heart rate (approximately found
u~ing th~ ~onnula of 220 minus the u3er ~ ~ age in years) .
(Fig. 2) Fitn~ss aut~o:ritie~ r2c:0mmeTId that fîtness
S progra~s con~i~t o~ three pa~: war~-up, work-out and
cool-do~n . ( S~e Fig . 3 ):
(a) Warm-up period - betw~n S and 10 minute
Th~ heart b~at . hould not exceed 50% of the
u~ex'~ ~axi~al h~art rat~ at th~ conclllsion
o~ war~-up period.
(~) Work-out - Perio~l oi~ o~ou~ exercise
wit:hin l:h~2 r~com~endQd a~robic rang~ as
15 ~ datenQined by the u~er l ~ heart or pul~3e
rat~.
(c) Cool~down - easing up on the ~x~rcise
intQnsity over a 5 to ~ O ~nlnute pe:riod
b~îor~ topping. Tha pul~e at the ~nd of
th~ cool do~m p~riod should be back to les
than 50 pere:ult o~ nal atta~nabl~ heaa~
rata.
It i~ important 1:hat wh$1s alla~iating t31e boredo~ o~
exerci~e w$~:h interactiYQ vid~o ga~¢~, one doe~ n5t
~ncouragQ th8 exQrci~er to ov~r-6~xext hi~ heartO In
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2~7~
accordanc~ with tha pre3ent invention, means are provided,
as will b~3 de~cxib~d, to encourag~ an exerci~er to stay
a~o~re the ~ini~um r~commended aerobic l~vel, but at the
sam~ time not exc@ed th~ maximum aQrobic level.
FigurQ 4 describ~ the flow-chart ~or the logic of the
video ga~e in accordance with a prograDI storQd in r~ad only
Dle~ory 18. Prior ~o starttng a work-out, th~ exerciser
inputs hi~ age, l~ng~ o~ warm--up (Tw~ and l~ng~ of main
10 work-out (T2) at st~p 30. ~ccording ko the r~commended
level o~ exerci~e descxib~d in Figur~ 2 and 3 and
discus3Qd earlier, the optim2~1 ran~ Or h~art ratQ required
during exerc:is~ ~or a per~on o~ entered age is
calclllated and di~played in ~t~p 3~. Should the exerci~er
15 wi~h to ov~rrida ~h~ r~coD~snd~d h¢art rat~, perhaps on the
advics o~ hi~ doctor, a dif~3r~nt upper (P~ax) and lower
n~ hearl: sat~ ~ay bG mamlally enter~d at ~3tep 3~.
Th~ purpo~ of r~cordirlg th~ h~art rat~ i~ to ~n~ur~ that
20 th~ ax~rci~er ~x~rciYe~ opti~ally, but do~s not over ex~rt
hi~ c~r her hQart. Should thQ h~rt rat~ og~ thQ exerciser
~all ou~d6 th~ optiDIal h~art rate range ~alculated~ or
tha ~anually Qsster~d rang~, tha ~p~d o~ the opE3o~ition or
villain changQ~3 in r~la~lon to thla speed o~ the sourc:e.
25 Th~ vaa:iabla t~at control~ villain'~ relat~R ~peed,
and thu~ r~pr~aent~ advantage or di~a~van~age th~
vllla~n will ha~e in r~lat1on to ~he ~ource, i~ a ~ettabl0
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W~ ~l/o9374 2 ~ P~r/US90/07579
16
constant called the K ~actor. ThQ video ga~e will have a
d~ault ~ ~a~tor value, bQkween 1.1 and 1. 5 ~or example,
and it i~ di~played a~ter the ~x~rci~er ha~ inputted his
workout infor~ation t ~tep 38. Should ~he exerci~er wish
5 to chang2 the default R factor, a new R ~actor D~ay be
manually Isntered ak ~tep ~o.
Wit~ the r~quir~d in~onhation ~nter~d, the ~xercise routine
can co~ence once th~ operator pre~e~ l'ch~ start button a~
10 3t~p 42 ~ wh~reupon the internal timQr (T) bes~ins at ~tep
- - 41, and the tim~ remaining in t~ war~Q-up i8 displayëd or~
th~ ~cxeen .
Sinc~ thR ~pa~ad the ~our¢~ or on~ play~r ~nove~ in the video
15 ga~ is proportional to t~6!t speed that the ~xerci~3er U585
th~ exerc:is~ mac~ne, 1~ xers:i~er ~ailsl to begin the
wor3cout, the ~ourc~ or one play~r will r~aain ~ationary on
creon at ~tep 46. T~ villain i~ediat~ly g~ts an
ad~mntag~ versu~ thQ ~ourc~, which at this point is
20 ~tationary, in that it~ sp~ad i~ thQ ga~e ~ s pre~et speed
(~t at l) 2ml1tiplied by th~ ~ factor e:e~ect at ~tep ~8.
For ~xa~pl~ tha g actor ha~ be~n ~Qt ~co 1. 5, ~he
villain ' ~ ~p~d will b~ on~ and a hal~ t~me~3 ~aster than
it pre~et value. The ~illain will gain rapidly on the
25 ~ourc~, prom~tlng the exerci~er to begin hi~ warm-up~ and
g~'c a~ay ~ro~ the villain.
WO 9l/09374 PCI~/US9~/0757g
17 ~7~9~
Whil~ l:he warDI-up continue~ in ~;tep 50, the heart rate o~
tho ~xerci~3er i~ continually checked to en ure that it doe~
not d~via~e froD~ optiD~al work-out rate at 3tep 52~ As
long as th~ ~x~rciser ' heart rat~ re~ain~ b~low the
S ~nini~um aQrobic rat~ Pmin the villain ' g speed is directly
proportional ~o th~ ~ource ' 8 spe~d Y ( ea step 54 ) O
However should th~ h~a~t rat~ exc~Qd thQ ~iniDI~ aerobic
rate, thu~ indi~ating that ~h~ 0xerci~er i~ working-out too
vigorously d~lring th~ warn~ -up " the villain ' ~ ~p~ed is
10 reduced below that o~ 3c~urc~ (S~e step s6) ~y a fac:tor
which is ths product o~ f and X. For ex~ple i~ ~-1. S and
0 . 6, thlan thQ villain ~ 8 ~p~Qd i~ O . 9 ~ at o~ the
~ourcs. This will pro~pt th~ ~3cerci~er to slow dowr~.
15 on~a the~ wa~ up period c~a~ a~ d~t~ctlad in ~tep 50~ th2
ti~r (T) reR~t~ in ~t~p 5S 0 and th~ work-out co~enc~s .
villain'~ ~p~d is re~Qt to th~ pe~d of th~ ~ource in
~tep 59. Th~ h~art rate i~ continually monitored during
~e work-out in ~t~p ~0. IX th~ h~a~ rate ~all~ b~low the
20 laln~ a~robic rate P~in, th~ villain's ~peed incr~ase~ in
- r~ ion to th~ ~ou~ce by th~ X ~actor in step ~4. A
me~sag- on th~ ~cr~en t~n ad~rlse~ x~ci3er to
inGr~a~2 his lev~l o~ acti~ity. Conver~ly, 3hould it be
det~ct~d im sl:~p 62 that l:h~ haart rat~ ~xc~d~ th~ opti~al
25 aerobic ratQ l~max, the sp~d ol~ the villain d~crease~ in
relation to that o~ sour~ in step 66 ( in a mann~r
s~ilar to th~t d~scr~b~d ab~Y~ ~n QtQp 56) and a ~e~sag~
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Wo 9l/09374 PcrtUS9O/07579
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caut~on~ the exerciser to slow down. I~ however, exercise
i3 occurring within the optiDIal rarlge, then the speed of
the villain equals the speed o~ the~ s~ource in ~tep 67. The
time re~naining in the work-out i recalculated and
5 rafreRhed on thQ display in step 68 and a ch~ck i~ ~ade in
~tap 7 0 on whether t~e total t$ms ~: ~laps~d in thQ ~ain
work-out period ha~ reached thla ti~ne Tz whlch ha~ been
pres~t. I~ not the pro~ r~turna to ~3t~p 60. Once the
main work-out cease3 a~ detect2d in ~t~p 70, the timer (T)
0 i3 re3Qt in step ~2, and th~ ~ource gain~ a continual 3peed
. .
ad~rantag~ ~rer~us~ th~ villa~n in st~p 7~, prompting the
~xercise~ to 810w down.
~h~ cool-down pariod continue~ ~or ~t l~a. a quarter o~
15 the t~me o~ the worlc-out 7~. If the heart rat~ at the end
o4' thi~ per~odl still exe22ds 5Q% o~ tha max~al attainable
h~art rate Y~, a ~as~ags i~ di~played reco~ending the
exerci~r to continu~ cool-down pQriod. The cool-down
p~riod t~u~ conl:inue u~til ~ h~3~t rate~ o~ the ex~3rci er
20 d~op~- to b~low 50% o~ ~ ~ax~al attainable heart rate.
Alt~ough a prQ~erred eD~bodi~ent o~ thQ l~vention ha~ been
~hown and dascribQd, numerous variation~ and modi~i~ation~
wllI readily occur to tho8et ~killed in th~ art~ For
25 axa~ple, th~ villain i~ vidso gam~ ~ay be pxogram~tad ~o
go fa3ter, rathor than ~lower :~olative to thR player or
~ou~c~ when ~h~ hea~t rate ~xc~d~ th~ maxi~uDI a~robis~
. i , . ' ' - ' ' '.'. , ' ~,, . .,, ,;~ . ',' !
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O 91/0937~ 3 PCr/US~0/0757
19
level. ~h~ exercis~r in thi~ circ:umstanc2 will get
im~dlat~ rel3dback that excaeding ths maximum aerobic limit
will not place hi~n in any gr~ater advantage relative to the
villa$n ( and will actually be placed in a disadvantage
5 relative to the villain) when the with aerobic li~it is
exce~ded. Thi3 i~ con~i~t~nt with research on exercise
indicating that exerois~ levels exceeding the Dlaximum
aerobic limit provids little addit~ onal aerobic bene~it
ov~r exercis~e within th~ pr~rrsd aarobic rangs, and may
10 actually pOll;~ risks for persons not in excellent
.
phy~ical con*ition. Th~ pre~ent inven1:ion i~ no~ ited
to th~ ~p~2cific embodiDIent di~clo~Qd and tha ~cope of the
inv~ntion 18 liDsited only by th~ app~3nd~d cla~m~.
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