US 2,011,003,665 · Filed 2010-04-26
Nike's Touchscreen Sports Watch That Started the Fitness Tracker Revolution
Nike patented a wristwatch designed to track how you're performing during sports and exercise. It has a removable electronic module (the smart part) that snaps onto a fabric band, a screen you can tap, and buttons you press to control it — basically the blueprint for modern fitness watches.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a wearable athletic monitoring device with a removable electronic module attached to a fabric wristband. What's protected here is the specific configuration: a controller and display screen paired with user input buttons, including one that responds to taps perpendicular (pressing straight into) the screen itself. Anyone making a removable smart watch module with this exact button-and-screen arrangement would be infringing.
Why it matters
This patent, filed in 2010, captures Nike's early entry into wearable sports technology during the moment when smartphones were becoming commonplace and fitness tracking was about to explode. By securing the design of a removable, screen-equipped athletic module, Nike protected a foundational approach to making sports watches that could be updated or replaced without replacing the entire band—a feature that became standard in the industry.
Real-world use
When you strap on any modern fitness watch—whether it's counting your steps during a run or displaying your heart rate during soccer practice—you're using technology descended from this modular, touchscreen design.
Original USPTO abstract
A device for monitoring athletic performance of a user has a wristband configured to be worn by the user. An electronic module is removably attached to the wristband. The electronic module has a controller and a screen and a plurality of user inputs operably associated with the controller. The user inputs include a user input configured to be applied by the user against the screen and in a direction generally normal to the screen.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 2,011,003,665
- Filing date
- 2010-04-26
- Grant date
- Application — not yet granted
- Assignee
- Nike, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- BURTON MAXIMILLIAN P., CAPOZZI MATT, COBBETT JAMIAN R., MOLYNEUX JAMES, WEAST AARON B.
- CPC class
- A61B5/1118
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