US 2,008,096,726 · Filed 2007-08-31
Nike's Patent for Smart Workout Tracking That Adapts to Your Mood
Nike patented a system that tracks your athletic performance in real time—measuring things like speed, distance, or heart rate—and uses that data to automatically pick music, adjust difficulty, or suggest workout changes to keep you motivated. It's like having a personal trainer and DJ rolled into one device.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The patent covers a system that combines performance sensors with software that responds to athlete feedback. What's protected here is the integration of measurement hardware (devices that track athletic data), data storage systems, and algorithms that adapt workout features or media selection based on both objective performance metrics and subjective user input. The claim extends to methods where athlete feedback loops back to control music selection, workout intensity, or future training suggestions.
Why it matters
This patent locks down a core concept in the modern fitness industry: wearables that don't just passively record data, but actively respond to athletes in real time. By coupling performance sensors with adaptive feedback systems, Nike secured intellectual property around the exact approach that makes fitness trackers feel intelligent rather than like simple counters. The combination of sensing, storage, display, and responsive adaptation was relatively novel at the time of filing in 2007, positioning Nike to build ecosystems where hardware and software work together.
Real-world use
Every time you use a fitness app that automatically switches your workout playlist based on how hard you're pushing, or that adjusts the next exercise recommendation based on your current performance level, you're interacting with the kind of integrated system this patent describes.
Original USPTO abstract
Athletic performance sensing and/or tracking systems include components for measuring or sensing athletic performance data and/or for storing and/or displaying desired information associated with the athletic performance to the user (or others). Such systems can allow users a wide variety of options in creating workouts, selecting and presenting media content during the athletic performance, etc., e.g., to help keep users entertained and motivated. In some instances, user feedback may be used, optionally in combination with objective data relating to a workout, to control features of the workout routine, to control the music or other media content selected and/or presented, and/or to control features of future workout routines and/or the presented media content.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 2,008,096,726
- Filing date
- 2007-08-31
- Grant date
- Application — not yet granted
- Assignee
- Nike, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- RILEY RAYMOND W., HOFFER KEVIN W., BERNER WILLIAM E.JR., SCHROCK ALLAN M., NIEGOWSKI JAMES A., RAUCHHOLZ WILLIAM F.
- CPC class
- G16H20/30
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