US-20260124520-A1 - INSTRUCTIONAL SURFACE WITH HAPTIC AND OPTICAL ELEMENTS

US20260124520A1US 20260124520 A1US20260124520 A1US 20260124520A1US-20260124520-A1

Abstract

An exercise system may include an exercise mat; sensors integrated into the exercise mat, each of the sensors configured to sense when a force is applied to a respective portion of the exercise mat; and displays coupled to the exercise mat and configured to display indications corresponding to desired locations for body parts of a user in accordance with an exercise routine. On one or more of the displays, indications corresponding to desired locations of a user's body part may be displayed in accordance with a form of one of stored exercise routines; and one or more of the sensors may sense an application of force to the exercise mat. One or more of the displays may display at least one marker identifying a direction from a location of the sensed application of force to a display location of the at least one of the indications.

Inventors

Stephen Merkel
Jason Poulos

Assignees

CFPH, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20260106

Claims (1)

1 . An exercise system comprising: an exercise mat; a plurality of sensors integrated into the exercise mat, each of the sensors configured to sense when a force is applied to a respective portion of the exercise mat; a plurality of displays coupled to the exercise mat and configured to display indications corresponding to desired locations for body parts of a user in accordance with an exercise routine; at least one processor disposed in communication with the plurality of sensors and the plurality of displays; and memory storing at least one exercise routine for use with the exercise mat and instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, configures the exercise system to: display on one or more of the displays indications corresponding to desired locations of a user's body part in accordance with a form of one of the exercise routines stored in memory; sense by one or more of the sensors an application of force to the exercise mat; determine that a location of the sensed application of force is different than a display location of at least one of the indications; and display on one or more of the displays at least one marker identifying a direction from the location of the sensed application of force to the display location of the at least one of the indications.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/141,811 filed May 1, 2023, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/207,557 filed Mar. 19, 2021 (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,638,864 issued May 2, 2023), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/385,019 filed on Apr. 16, 2019 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,953,306 issued Mar. 23, 2021), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/004,617 filed Jun. 11, 2018 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,293,240 issued May 21, 2019), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/007,563 filed Jan. 27, 2016 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,993,715 issued Jun. 12, 2018), the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. FIELD Some embodiments may relate to surfaces including, for example, exercise mats. BACKGROUND An exercise mat provides a user with support, grip, and cushioning when the user is exercising on a hard surface such as a wood, tile, or concrete floor. Exercise using an exercise mat is typically performed in a group setting, such as a gym class, or on an individual basis, such as at home, in the park, or any other location. Depending on a user's skill level, the user may require varying levels of instruction to perform the forms or motions of an exercise routine properly. For example, in the group setting, an instructor performs the routine for the class, acting as a model that each user then attempts to follow or duplicate. The instructor may also move about the class and correct individual users during the session. SUMMARY The following should be understood as embodiments and not claims. An exercise system comprising: an exercise mat; a plurality of sensors integrated into the exercise mat, each of the sensors configured to sense when a force is applied to a respective portion of the exercise mat; a plurality of displays coupled to the exercise mat and configured to display indications corresponding to desired locations for body parts of a user in accordance with an exercise routine; at least one processor disposed in communication with the plurality of sensors and the plurality of displays; and memory storing at least one exercise routine for use with the exercise mat and instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, configures the exercise system to: display on one or more of the displays indications corresponding to desired locations of a user's body part in accordance with a form of one of the exercise routines stored in memory; sense by one or more of the sensors an application of force to the exercise mat; determine that a location of the sensed application of force is different than a display location of at least one of the indications; and display on one or more of the displays at least one marker identifying a direction from the location of the sensed application of force to the display location of the at least one of the indications. The system above, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further configure the exercise system to: sense by one or more of the sensors a change in the location of the application of force to the exercise mat; determine that the changed location corresponds to the display location of at least one of the indications; and display on one or more of the displays an indication of a match between the changed location and the display location of at least one of the indications. The system above, wherein the displays are embedded into a surface of the exercise mat. The system above, wherein the exercise mat further includes a mesh, and wherein the displays are secured to the mesh. The system above, wherein the mesh is embedded into a surface of the exercise mat. The system above, wherein a surface of the exercise mat is covered by a transparent layer, and wherein the displays are disposed between the surface of the exercise mat and the transparent layer. The system above, wherein the markers are in an inactive state when the location of the sensed application of force corresponds to the location of the at least one of the indications. The system above, wherein the markers are transparent when in the inactive state. The system above, wherein the markers are not displayed on the displays when in the inactive state. The system above, wherein at least one of the markers is transitioned to an active state when the location of the sensed application of force is different from the location of the at least one of the indications. The system above, wherein the at least one of the markers is displayed on the displays when in the active state. The system above, wherein the at least one of the markers is highlighted when in the active state. The system above, wherein the plurality of indications include an outline of a body part. The system above, in which the system comprises a projector, and in which the at least one processor is configured to caus