Physical exercise system having a virtual reality environment controlled by a users movement

Abstract

A wellness system comprises an exercise load providing unit for providing a load of a physical exercise for a user, and for measuring a movement of the user who is doing the physical exercise, a virtual reality environment providing unit for providing the user with a virtual reality environment that can cause user's plural senses such as the sense of sight, hearing, touch, and smell to work, according to the contents of the virtual reality environment, and a control unit for controlling the virtual reality environment provided by the virtual reality environment providing unit according to the user's movement measured by the exercise load providing unit. Furthermore, when providing the virtual reality environment, the virtual reality environment providing unit displays an image which produces the virtual reality environment by setting its angle of view to be larger than an angle of view of a corresponding object or scene which was shot.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A wellness system comprising: 
 an exercise load providing means for providing a load of a physical exercise for a user, and for measuring a movement of the user who is doing the physical exercise;    a virtual reality environment providing means for providing the user with a virtual reality environment according to the contents of the virtual reality environment; and    a control means for controlling the virtual reality environment provided by said virtual reality environment providing means according to the user's movement measured by said exercise load providing means, and wherein when providing the virtual reality environment, said virtual reality environment providing means displays an image which produces the virtual reality environment by setting its angle of view to be larger than an angle of view of a corresponding object or scene which was shot.    
     
     
         2 . A wellness system comprising: 
 an exercise load providing means for providing a load of a physical exercise for a user, and for measuring a movement of the user who is doing the physical exercise;    a virtual reality environment providing means for providing the user with a virtual reality environment according to the contents of the virtual reality environment;    a physiological and psychological condition evaluating means for acquiring information representing user's physiological and psychological conditions so as to evaluate the user's physiological and psychological conditions; and    a control means for controlling the load of the physical exercise which the user is doing according to the user's physiological condition evaluated by said physiological and psychological condition evaluating means, and for controlling the virtual reality environment provided by said virtual reality environment providing means according to the user's psychological condition evaluated by said physiological and psychological condition evaluating means, and wherein when providing the virtual reality environment, said virtual reality environment providing means displays an image which produces the virtual reality environment by setting its angle of view to be larger than an angle of view of a corresponding object or scene which was shot.    
     
     
         3 . A wellness system comprising: 
 an exercise load providing means for providing a load of a physical exercise for a user, and for measuring a movement of the user who is doing the physical exercise;    a virtual reality environment providing means for providing the user with a virtual reality environment according to the contents of the virtual reality environment; and    a control means for controlling the virtual reality environment provided by said virtual reality environment providing means according to the user's movement measured by said exercise load providing means, and wherein said virtual reality environment providing means can store a plurality of dynamic image cuts which were taken at a plurality of places of a real environment which is a source of the virtual reality environment, and can replay them cut by cut according to the user' movement measured by said exercise load providing means.    
     
     
         4 . The wellness system according to    claim 3   , wherein said virtual reality environment providing means can provide the user with a sound, a wind, and fragrance which are associated with each of the plurality of dynamic image cuts, in synchronization with the replay of each of the plurality of dynamic image cuts.  
     
     
         5 . A wellness system comprising: 
 an exercise load providing means for providing a load of a physical exercise for a user, and for measuring a movement of the user who is doing the physical exercise;    a virtual reality environment providing means for providing the user with a virtual reality environment according to the contents of the virtual reality environment; and    a control means for controlling the load of the physical exercise provided by said exercise load providing means, and wherein said virtual reality environment providing means can provide a negative load of a physical exercise to help the user to do the physical exercise.    
     
     
         6 . A wellness system comprising: 
 an exercise load providing means for providing a load of a physical exercise for a user, and for measuring a movement of the user who is doing the physical exercise;    a virtual reality environment providing means for providing the user with a virtual reality environment according to the contents of the virtual reality environment; and    a control means for controlling the load of the physical exercise provided by said exercise load providing means according to a data which defines a pattern of the physical exercise which the user is to do.    
     
     
         7 . The wellness system according to    claim 6   , wherein said exercise load providing means includes a load providing means for directly providing the load of the physical exercise for the user, a position detecting sensor for detecting a position of said load providing means, and a speed detecting sensor for detecting a moving speed of said load providing means, and wherein said exercise load providing means can use outputs from said position detecting sensor and said speed detecting sensor as the data which defines the pattern of the physical exercise which the user is to do.  
     
     
         8 . The wellness system according to    claim 6   , further comprising an exercise load data input means through which the data which defines the physical exercise pattern can be input when the user starts physical training using said wellness system.  
     
     
         9 . A wellness system comprising: 
 an exercise load providing means for providing a load of a physical exercise for a user, and for measuring a movement of the user who is doing the physical exercise;    a virtual reality environment providing means for providing the user with a virtual reality environment according to the contents of the virtual reality environment;    a physiological and psychological condition evaluating means for acquiring information representing user's physiological and psychological conditions so as to evaluate the user's physiological and psychological conditions; and    a control means for controlling the load of the physical exercise which the user is doing according to the user's physiological condition evaluated by said physiological and psychological condition evaluating means, and wherein said physiological and psychological condition evaluating means is provided with an electromyogram measuring means for measuring an electromyogram of a muscle on which the load of the physical exercise is imposed, a muscle active mass estimating means for estimating an active mass of the muscle from the electromyogram measured by said electromyogram measuring means.    
     
     
         10 . A wellness system comprising: 
 an exercise load providing means for providing a load of a physical exercise for a user, and for measuring a movement of the user who is doing the physical exercise;    a virtual reality environment providing means for providing the user with a virtual reality environment according to the contents of the virtual reality environment;    a physiological and psychological condition evaluating means for acquiring information representing user's physiological and psychological conditions so as to evaluate user's physiological and psychological conditions; and    a control means for controlling the load of the physical exercise which the user is doing according to the user's physiological condition evaluated by said physiological and psychological condition evaluating means, and wherein said physiological and psychological condition evaluating means is provided with an electromyograph means for obtaining an electromyogram of a muscle of a diseased part in cast of the user by means of electrodes attached to the diseased part in cast, a muscle active mass estimating means for estimating an active mass of the muscle from the electromyogram obtained by said electromyograph means, and wherein said exercise load providing means is provided with an electric shock applying means for applying an electric shock to the user's muscle through other electrodes attached to the diseased part in cast, and an electric shock control means for controlling said electric shock applying means according to the active mass of the muscle estimated by said muscle active mass estimating means, thereby providing a pseudo load of a physical exercise for the user by using electric shocks.    
     
     
         11 . A wellness system comprising: 
 an exercise load providing means for providing a load of a physical exercise for a user, and for measuring a movement of the user who is doing the physical exercise;    a virtual reality environment providing means for providing the user with a virtual reality environment according to the contents of the virtual reality environment;    a gesture identifying means for detecting the shape of a part of the user's body which makes a gesture and then identifying the gesture; and    a control means for activating or deactivating said wellness system, controlling said virtual reality environment providing means, and controlling said exercise load providing means, according to the user's gesture identified by said gesture identifying means.    
     
     
         12 . A wellness system comprising: 
 an exercise load providing means for providing a load of a physical exercise for a user, and for measuring a movement of the user who is doing the physical exercise;    a virtual reality environment providing means for providing the user with a virtual reality environment according to the contents of the virtual reality environment; and    a control means for controlling the virtual reality environment provided by said virtual reality environment providing means according to the user's movement measured by said exercise load providing means, and wherein said virtual reality environment providing means is provided with a means for taking and capturing an image of at least a part of the user's body, and a means for superimposing the image captured on an image of the virtual reality environment to be provided to display the composite image when providing the virtual reality environment.    
     
     
         13 . A wellness system comprising: 
 an exercise load providing means for providing a load of a physical exercise for a user, and for measuring a movement of the user who is doing the physical exercise;    a virtual reality environment providing means for providing the user with a virtual reality environment according to the contents of the virtual reality environment;    a control means for controlling the virtual reality environment provided by said virtual reality environment providing means according to the user's movement measured by said exercise load providing means;    a transmission information acquiring means for acquiring information about an image and a sound associated with the user;    a transmission data generating means for converting the information about an image and a sound acquired by said transmission information acquiring means and information about a position of the user in the virtual reality environment, which is furnished by said control means, into communications data in predetermined communications format so as to produce the communications data to be transmitted by way of a communications network; and    a received data transforming means for transforming communications data transmitted to said wellness system by way of the communications network into data required for said virtual reality environment providing means to construct the virtual reality environment.    
     
     
         14 . A wellness system comprising: 
 an exercise load providing means for providing a load of a physical exercise for a user, and for measuring a movement of the user who is doing the physical exercise;    a virtual reality environment providing means for providing the user with a virtual reality environment according to the contents of the virtual reality environment;    an image information acquiring means movably disposed for acquiring information about an image of a real environment that is apart from the user;    a sound information acquiring means movably disposed for acquiring information about sounds made in the real environment that is apart from the user;    an environment information acquiring means movably disposed for acquiring information about the real environment that is apart from the user; and    a control means for moving said image information acquiring means, said sound information acquiring means, and said environment information acquiring means according to the user's movement measured by said exercise load providing means, and for controlling the virtual reality environment provided by said virtual reality environment providing means using the information acquired by said image information acquiring means, said sound information acquiring means, and said environment information acquiring means.    
     
     
         15 . The wellness system according to    claim 14   , further comprising a user's image information acquiring means for acquiring information about an image of at least a part of the user's body, a user's sound information acquiring means for acquiring information about a sound that the user makes, an image information providing means for providing the image information acquired by said user's image information acquiring means for persons staying in the real environment which is a source of the virtual reality environment, and an image information providing means for providing the sound information acquired by said user's sound information acquiring means for persons staying in the real environment which is a source of the virtual reality environment.