Wearable resistance device with power monitoring

Abstract

Disclosed is a technical training garment configured for use with modular, interchangeable biomechanics units and or resistance modules. The garment may provide resistance to movement throughout an angular range of motion and or tracks a variety of biomechanical parameters such as stride length, stride rate, angular velocity and power expended by the wearer. The garment may be low profile, and worn by a wearer as a primary garment or beneath or over conventional clothing or athletic uniform. The device may be worn as a supplemental training and or diagnostic tool during conventional training protocols, or as a biomechanics or biometric data capture device during competition.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A wearable garment training system for monitoring stride biomechanics at the hip, comprising:
 a waist portion;   a left leg portion;   a right leg portion;   a left hip biomechanics unit removably carried by a left connector on the garment and aligned with a rotational axis of the left leg;   a right hip biomechanics unit removably carried by a right connector on the garment and aligned with a rotational axis of the right leg;   wherein the left and right biomechanics units each capture data for enabling the determination of power expended by a wearer throughout a range of motion at the hip.   
     
     
         2 . A training system as in  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the biomechanics units is configured to capture time and angle data during flexion. 
     
     
         3 . A training system as in  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the biomechanics units is configured to capture time and angle data during extension. 
     
     
         4 . A training system as in  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the biomechanics units is configured to measure force applied during flexion. 
     
     
         5 . A training system as in  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the biomechanics units is configured to measure force applied during extension. 
     
     
         6 . A training system as in  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the biomechanics units is configured to capture data relating to angular velocity of a wearer's leg throughout the range of motion. 
     
     
         7 . A training system as in  claim 1 , further comprising a processor, for determining power expended throughout the range of motion. 
     
     
         8 . A training system as in  claim 1 , further comprising a transmitter, for transmitting data to a remote device. 
     
     
         9 . A training system as in  claim 2 , further comprising a transmitter, for transmitting time and angle data to a remote device. 
     
     
         10 . A training system as in  claim 1 , further comprising a left knee biomechanics unit and a right knee biomechanics unit. 
     
     
         11 . A training system as in  claim 1 , wherein the left and right hip biomechanics units each further comprise rotatable resistance units. 
     
     
         12 . A training system as in  claim 1 , wherein each biomechanics unit comprises a housing and a femoral lever extending from the housing. 
     
     
         13 . A training system as in  claim 1 , wherein the garment comprises a compression fabric. 
     
     
         14 . A training system as in  claim 13 , wherein the fabric comprises a polyester elastane fabric with moisture wicking properties. 
     
     
         15 . A training system as in  claim 11 , wherein the left and right resistance units each impose a resistance of at least about 5 inch pounds. 
     
     
         16 . A training system as in  claim 15 , wherein the left and right resistance units each impose a resistance of at least about 10 inch pounds. 
     
     
         17 . A training system as in  claim 16 , wherein the left and right resistance units each impose a resistance of at least about 15 inch pounds. 
     
     
         18 . A training system as in  claim 1 , wherein the garment comprises a wearable harness. 
     
     
         19 . A training system as in  claim 18 , wherein the harness comprises a waist band and left and right leg bands. 
     
     
         20 . A training system as in  claim 1 , further comprising an ANT+ transmitter. 
     
     
         21 . A training system as in  claim 1 , wherein each biomechanics unit is configured to capture data for enabling the determination of stride length. 
     
     
         22 . A training system as in  claim 1 , wherein each biomechanics unit is configured to capture data for enabling the determination of stride rate. 
     
     
         23 . A training system as in  claim 1 , wherein at least one biomechanics unit comprises a strain gauge. 
     
     
         24 . A training system as in  claim 1 , wherein at least one biomechanics unit comprises a torque sensor. 
     
     
         25 . A training system as in  claim 1 , wherein the left and right biomechanics units are configured to capture data reflecting left side and right side asymmetries in performance. 
     
     
         26 . A training system as in  claim 25 , further comprising a processor and a transmitter, wherein the processor is configured to transmit data reflecting left side and right side asymmetries in power output. 
     
     
         27 . A training system as in  claim 25 , further comprising a processor and a transmitter, wherein the processor is configured to transmit data reflecting left side and right side asymmetries in stride length. 
     
     
         28 . A training system as in  claim 1 , further comprising a processor configured to determine power to heart rate ratio. 
     
     
         29 . A training system as in  claim 1 , further comprising a processor and a transmitter, wherein the processor is configured to transmit data enabling the determination of power to heart rate ratio. 
     
     
         30 . A training system as in  claim 1 , further comprising a processor configured to determine power to weight ratio. 
     
     
         31 . A training system as in  claim 1 , further comprising a processor and a transmitter, wherein the processor is configured to transmit data enabling the determination of power to weight ratio. 
     
     
         32 . A training system as in  claim 1 , further comprising a processor configured to determine efficiency factor. 
     
     
         33 . A training system as in  claim 1 , further comprising a processor and a transmitter, wherein the processor is configured to transmit data enabling the determination of efficiency factor. 
     
     
         34 . A training system as in  claim 1 , further comprising a processor and a transmitter, wherein the processor is configured to transmit data reflecting actual distance travelled based in part upon measured stride length. 
     
     
         35 . A training system as in  claim 1 , further comprising an electronics module carried by the garment, the electronics module comprising a processor and a transmitter. 
     
     
         36 . A training system as in  claim 35 , wherein the electronics module is in wired communication with at least one biomechanics unit. 
     
     
         37 . A training system as in  claim 35 , wherein the electronics module is carried by the waist portion. 
     
     
         38 . A training system as in  claim 37 , wherein the electronics module is removably carried by the waist portion. 
     
     
         39 . A wearable garment training system for increasing physiological load and monitoring power exerted to overcome the load, the wearable garment training system comprising a waist portion, a left leg portion, a right leg portion, a left hip resistance unit carried by the garment such that movement of the left leg portion relative to the waist portion is resisted by the left hip resistance unit, a right hip resistance unit carried by the garment such that movement of the right leg portion relative to the waist portion is resisted by the right hip resistance unit, and one or more hardware processors, wherein the one or more hardware processors are configured to:
 receive a first measurement of force exerted by a wearer from a left force sensor;   receive a second measurement of force exerted by the wearer from a right force sensor;   apply power processing rules on the first measurement of force and the second measurement of force; and   determine power generated by the wearer based on the application of the power processing rules on the first measurement of force and the second measurement of force.   
     
     
         40 . A wearable measurement system as in  claim 39 , wherein the one or more hardware processors are further configured to generate a display including an indication of the determined power and transmit the generated display to a computing device. 
     
     
         41 . A wearable garment training system for monitoring power expended by a wearer, the wearable garment training system comprising:
 a waist portion, a left leg portion, and a right leg portion;   a left hip biomechanics unit carried by a left connector on the garment and aligned with a rotational axis of the left leg;   a right hip biomechanics unit carried by a right connector on the garment and aligned with a rotational axis of the right leg; and   one or more hardware processors, wherein the one or more hardware processors are configured to:   receive a first measurement of time and angular rotation data from a left biomechanics unit;   receive a second measurement of time and angular rotation data from a right biomechanics unit;   apply power processing rules on the first measurement of time and angular rotation data and the second measurement of time and angular rotation data; and   determine power generated by the wearer based on the application of the power processing rules on the first measurement of time and angular rotation data and the second measurement of time and angular rotation data.   
     
     
         42 . A wearable measurement system as in  claim 41 , wherein the one or more hardware processors are further configured to generate a display including an indication of the determined power and transmit the generated display to a computing device.