US 5,899,963 · Granted 1999-05-04
The 1999 Motion Tracker Patent That Started the Fitness Wearable Revolution
Imagine a tiny computer chip in your shoe or watch that counts your steps, measures how fast you're running, and even calculates how high you jump — all by sensing movement and doing the math in real time. This patent describes exactly that: accelerometers and sensors that turn raw motion data into useful fitness numbers you can actually read on a display.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a system that places motion sensors (accelerometers and rotational sensors) in wearable locations—like a shoe sole, wristwatch, or waistband—paired with a microprocessor that calculates distance traveled, running speed, and jump height from the raw sensor data, then outputs those measurements to a display. What's protected is the specific method of combining these sensors with mathematical calculations to derive distance and speed from step patterns and elapsed time.
Why it matters
This patent captures the core engineering approach behind modern fitness trackers and smartwatches. Filed in 1997 and granted in 1999, it arrived just as wearable computing was emerging as a category. By patenting the fundamental method of using accelerometers in shoes or on the body to measure distance and speed, Acceleron Technologies locked down a foundational piece of what would become a multi-billion-dollar fitness-tracking industry dominated by companies like Fitbit, Apple, and Garmin.
Real-world use
Every time you check your step count on a smartwatch or fitness band, you're benefiting from the motion-sensing approach this patent protected—sensors tracking your movement and a chip doing the calculations your wrist display shows you.
Original USPTO abstract
A device that measures the distance traveled, speed, and height jumped of a moving object or a person while running or walking. Accelerometers and rotational sensors are placed in the object or in the sole of one shoe, or in a wrist watch or the waist of the user, along with an electronic circuit that performs mathematical calculations to determine the distance and height. A microprocessor calculates an output speed based upon step-distance and elapsed time, and the distance traveled from the sum of all previous steps. The output of the microprocessor is coupled to a display that shows the distance traveled, speed, or height jumped.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,899,963
- Filing date
- 1997-06-17
- Grant date
- 1999-05-04
- Assignee
- Acceleron Technologies, Llc
- Inventor(s)
- HUTCHINGS; LAWRENCE J.
- CPC class
- A63B24/0021
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