Fitness equipment incorporated with content control of an electronic device

Abstract

In a fitness equipment that provides a user with walking, running, or bicycling exercises, signals generated by a driving device corresponding to the forward/backward movement of the user is converted into the forward/backward control of an electronic game or the up/down scrolling control of the content of an application of an electronic device, such that the user is capable of enjoying the content control while physically exercising, which beats boredom of just exercising. On the other hand, content control of the electronic device transferred from manual operation to movement on the fitness equipment provides fitness objectives when using the electronic device. Furthermore, the resemblance between the movement of walking, running, or bicycling of the user and the movement of the figures in the electronic games or the scrolling of the content of the application adds to similarity, sense of presence, and convenience.

1 . A fitness equipment incorporated with content control of an electronic device, comprising:
 a frame;   a driving device disposed at the frame, the driving device adapted to being drove by a user moving along an exercising direction to generate actuating signals;   a signal processing unit connected to the driving device for receiving the actuating signals and converting the actuating signals into input signals;   a control unit connected to the signal processing unit, the control unit generating corresponding control signals according to the input signals; and   a communication interface in connection with the electronic device, the control unit sending the control signals to the electronic device via the communication interface to perform content control of the electronic device.   
     
     
         2 . The fitness equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the fitness equipment is a treadmill, the driving device is a moving belt of the treadmill, and the exercising direction is a direction the user runs or walks on the moving belt. 
     
     
         3 . The fitness equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the fitness equipment is an exercising bike or a spin bike, the driving device is a wheel of the exercising bike, and the exercising direction is a rotation direction of the wheel. 
     
     
         4 . The fitness equipment of  claim 1 , further comprising an electrical switch connected to the driving device for receiving the actuating signals and turning on a control switch, the control unit being a game control unit comprising the control switch, the game control unit utilized for generating the corresponding control signals when the control switch is turned on, the control signals utilized for controlling an electronic game of the electronic device. 
     
     
         5 . The fitness equipment of  claim 4 , wherein the driving device is a mechanical driving structure, comprising:
 a rotary shaft rotated by the user moving along the exercising direction;   a friction device connected to the rotary shaft;   a pendulum connected to the friction device and moved by the friction device toward a side when the rotary shaft is rotated; and   an actuator disposed at the side where the pendulum is moved toward and actuated by the pendulum moving toward the side so as to generate the actuating signals.   
     
     
         6 . The fitness equipment of  claim 4 , wherein the driving device comprises a rotary shaft and an actuator for generating the actuating signals having impulse current when the user moves along the exercising direction. 
     
     
         7 . The fitness equipment of  claim 6 , wherein the actuator is a magnetic switch, a light sensor switch, or a photoresistor. 
     
     
         8 . The fitness equipment of  claim 6 , further comprising a signal converter, connected between the driving device and the electrical switch for converting the actuating signals into continuous current signals. 
     
     
         9 . The fitness equipment of  claim 4 , wherein the electrical switch is a relay, an electrical switch circuit, or a switch transistor. 
     
     
         10 . The fitness equipment of  claim 4 , wherein the driving device is a kinetic converter and the actuating signals are alternative current. 
     
     
         11 . The fitness equipment of  claim 10 , wherein the driving device is a motor or an electrical generator. 
     
     
         12 . The fitness equipment of  claim 4 , wherein the electronic device is a computer or a video game player, and the electronic game is a role playing game, an online role playing game, a puzzle game, a sport game, a virtual reality game, a landscape interactive application, a motion game, or a shooting game. 
     
     
         13 . The fitness equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the signal processing unit is utilized for converting the actuating signals into the input signals with specific frequency, the control unit is utilized for generating the control signals according to the input signals with specific frequency, and the control signals are utilized for performing content scrolling control of an application of the electronic device. 
     
     
         14 . The fitness equipment of  claim 13 , wherein the driving device is a mechanical driving structure, comprising:
 a rotary shaft rotated by the user moving along the exercising direction;   a friction device connected to the rotary shaft;   a pendulum connected to the friction device and moved to swing by the friction device when the rotary shaft is rotated; and   a plurality of actuators disposed at the swinging path of the pendulum, one of the plurality of actuators actuated by the pendulum moved by the friction device so as to generate the actuating signals.   
     
     
         15 . The fitness equipment of  claim 14 , wherein the actuating signals generated by one of the plurality of actuators actuated by the pendulum swinging at a larger angle is received and converted by the signal processing unit into the input signals with higher frequency. 
     
     
         16 . The fitness equipment of  claim 14 , wherein the actuating signals generated by one of the plurality of actuators actuated by the pendulum moved by the friction device to swing toward a first side is received and converted by the signal processing unit into the forward input signals, and the actuating signals generated by one of the plurality of actuators actuated by the pendulum moved by the friction device to swing toward a second side is received and converted by the signal processing unit into the backward input signals. 
     
     
         17 . The fitness equipment of  claim 13 , wherein the driving device comprises a rotary shaft and an actuator for generating the actuating signals having impulse current when the user moves along the exercising direction, wherein the actuator is a magnetic switch, a light sensor switch, or a photoresistor. 
     
     
         18 . The fitness equipment of  claim 17 , wherein the signal processing unit is utilized for converting the actuating signals into the input signals with specific frequency according to the frequency of the impulse current of the actuating signals. 
     
     
         19 . The fitness equipment of  claim 13 , wherein the driving device is a kinetic converter and the actuating signals are alternative current signals with frequency corresponding to the rate that the driving device is drove as the user moves along the exercising direction. 
     
     
         20 . The fitness equipment of  claim 19 , wherein the driving device is a motor or an electrical generator. 
     
     
         21 . The fitness equipment of  claim 13 , further comprising a signal adjusting device connected to the control unit, the signal adjusting device utilized for modifying an enlarging scale of the specific frequency of the input signals. 
     
     
         22 . The fitness equipment of  claim 21 , wherein the signal adjusting device is a lever, a knob, or a switch having sliding variable resistor and is disposed at the frame. 
     
     
         23 . The fitness equipment of  claim 13 , wherein the control unit comprises a switch circuit and the control signals are frequency signals of the switch circuit turning on a scrolling switch of the application according to the specific frequency of the input signals, wherein the switch circuit is a relay, an electrical switch circuit, or a switch transistor. 
     
     
         24 . The fitness equipment of  claim 13 , wherein the control signals comprise scrolling direction of the content, scrolling speed, and scrolling duration. 
     
     
         25 . The fitness equipment of  claim 13 , wherein the electronic device is a tablet computer, a smart phone, an electronic book reader, or a laptop computer, and the application is a web browser, a portable document file (PDF) reader, an office program, or an electronic book application. 
     
     
         26 . The fitness equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the control unit is a mouse control chip, a keyboard control chip, or a joystick control chip. 
     
     
         27 . The fitness equipment of  claim 1 , further comprising a direction control component, the frame comprising a handrail and the direction control component is disposed at the handrail for being actuated to transmit direction control signals to the control unit. 
     
     
         28 . The fitness equipment of  claim 27 , wherein the direction control component is a button. 
     
     
         29 . The fitness equipment of  claim 1 , further comprising a function control component disposed at the frame for being actuated to transmit function control signals to the control unit. 
     
     
         30 . The fitness equipment of  claim 29 , wherein the function control component is a button. 
     
     
         31 . The fitness equipment of  claim 1 , further comprising an auxiliary input device and an expansion interface, the auxiliary input device connected to the expansion interface to transmit control signals to the control unit. 
     
     
         32 . The fitness equipment of  claim 31 , wherein the auxiliary input device is a mouse, a joystick, a keyboard, a touch screen panel, a light sensor, or a video camera. 
     
     
         33 . The fitness equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the communication interface is selected from one of the following: RS232, PS/2, USB, SATA, local area network, Firewire, Bluetooth, infrared ray, ultraviolet ray, ultrasonic wave, radio wave, and wireless communication network.