Athletic Monitoring System And Method

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for monitoring the athletic performance of a user while also providing the user with entertainment such as an outputting of music. A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a housing component at least partially defining an enclosure. A performance engine may be located within the enclosure and may utilize a signal from a motion sensor to generate a performance metric like current speed, distance traveled, or cadence. The system may also include an audio and/or a visual output mechanism such as a speaker assembly or a display device. The output mechanism may be capable of presenting the performance metric to a user.

1 . A computing device comprising:
 a housing component at least partially defining an enclosure;   a memory located at least partially within the enclosure;   a set of performance engine instructions stored in the memory and configured to utilize a signal from a motion sensor to generate a first performance metric and a second performance metric;   an audio file player located within the enclosure;   an audio output device configured to output a first audio output signal representing an audio file played by the audio file player;   a display configured to output a map to display a performance route and at least one of the first and second performance metrics using GPS data; and   a wide area wireless transceiver located within the enclosure and operable to receive an incoming telephone call, wherein the audio output device is operable to indicate the existence of the incoming telephone call and to pause the first audio output signal in connection with an answering of the incoming telephone call.   
   
   
       2 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the audio output device is further configured to output a second audio output signal representing a spoken reporting of the first performance metric and the second performance metric, the second audio output signal output responsive to a user request. 
   
   
       3 . The computing device of  claim 1 , further comprising an application configured to receive the first and second performance metrics and the GPS data and output the map. 
   
   
       4 . The computing device of  claim 3 , wherein the application is configured to convert the GPS data and the first and second performance metrics to an animated sequence. 
   
   
       5 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device is configured to download an application including the set of performance engine instructions. 
   
   
       6 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device includes a GPS device to provide the GPS data. 
   
   
       7 . The computing device of  claim 2 , further comprising a bicycle motion sensor that is the motion sensor, wherein the bicycle motion sensor is operable to communicate the signal across an interface selected from a group consisting of a wired interface and a wireless interface. 
   
   
       8 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the first performance metric and the second performance metric are each selected from a group consisting of a cadence metric, a speed metric, a heart rate performance metric, a time metric, a calories burned metric, and a distance metric and further wherein the system utilizes a GPS device to sense movement. 
   
   
       9 . The computing device of  claim 1 , further comprising a local area wireless transceiver and a heart rate sensor operable to communicate heart rate information for the user to the local area wireless transceiver, wherein the set of performance engine instructions are further operable to utilize the heart rate information to generate a heart rate performance metric. 
   
   
       10 . The computing device of  claim 1 , further comprising a toggle disk to enable user interaction with the performance monitoring system. 
   
   
       11 . The computing device of  claim 1 , further comprising an application loaded in the performance monitoring system, wherein the application is downloaded over the air via the wide area wireless transceiver. 
   
   
       12 . A method comprising:
 (a) receiving a collection of performance metric information from a device storing the collection, wherein the device comprises:
 a housing component at least partially defining an enclosure; 
 a memory located at least partially within the enclosure; 
 a set of performance engine instructions stored in the memory and configured to utilize a signal from a motion sensor to generate a first performance metric and a second performance metric; 
 an audio file player located within the enclosure; 
 an audio output device configured to output a first audio output signal representing an audio file played by the audio file player; 
 a display configured to output a map to display a performance route and at least one of the first and second performance metrics using GPS data; and 
 a wide area wireless transceiver operable to receive an incoming telephone call, and wherein the device is operable to indicate the existence of the incoming telephone call and to pause the first audio output signal in connection with an answering of the incoming telephone call; and 
   (b) generating a viewable representation of the collection.   
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the device is to output a second audio output signal representing a spoken reporting of the first performance metric and the second performance metric. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the device includes an application configured to receive the first and second performance metrics and the GPS data and output the map. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the collection of performance metric information is indirectly received from the device, further wherein the indirect receipt comprises at least one communication via the Public Internet. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising allowing a first user to share at least a portion of a first user collection of performance metric information with a different user via a wide area cellular network. 
   
   
       17 . A performance monitoring system comprising:
 a computer readable medium storing instructions to direct a cellular telephone to generate a first performance metric and a second performance metric that are based at least in part on a signal generated by a motion sensing device; and   wherein the cellular telephone comprises an audio output mechanism to output a first audio output signal representing an audio file being played by the cellular telephone, a GPS component to facilitate location-based and tracking functionality, a display configured to display a performance route and at least one of the first and second performance metrics using GPS data from the GPS component, and a wide area wireless transceiver operable to receive an incoming telephone call, and wherein the cellular telephone is configured to indicate the existence of the incoming telephone call and to pause the audio file in connection with an answering of the incoming telephone call.   
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the cellular telephone is configured to download a set of performance engine instructions to generate the first and second performance metrics and to store the set of performance engine instructions in the computer readable medium. 
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising a different computer readable medium storing instructions to direct a personal computer to receive a collection of performance metric information from the cellular telephone and to send an update that comprises a modified set of performance engine instructions to the cellular telephone. 
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising a mounting system for securing the motion sensing device to a human body part, including a mechanism that secures the mounting system to the human body part and a device holder portion formed such that the motion sensing device at least partially fits within the device holder portion.