AUTOMATED RACKING OF WEIGHT LIFTING EQUIPMENT
Automated gym equipment sorting technology is presented for receiving, measuring, sorting, delivering and inventorying weights (dumbbells) used in a gym facility. Various mechanisms are employed for efficiently replacing weights on a rack accessible to gym members. Weights are randomly dropped off at and dynamically sorted by the technology based on dumbbell characteristics and an optional schema so that members can more efficiently find desired weights.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional application No. 62/066,237 filed Oct. 20, 2014 which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present disclosure relates generally to systems, apparatuses, and methods for automatically sorting and racking gym equipment for use by gym users in an athletic gym facility.
BACKGROUNDOne of the primary forms of exercise within gym facilities is lifting weights. Weightlifting uses one or more types of weights (e.g., bar and plate, and/or dumbbell weights) for developing strength and muscle size. Gym facilities store weights and other equipment for shared use amongst gym members, who may use weights having different sizes and masses based on personal goals and objectives. As a user progresses through various exercises, he/she may return weights to a shared rack so that other users can use the weights. Dumbbells are often stored on weight racks and generally have an intended location based on a weight rack layout (e.g., sequentially increasing weights from lowest to highest mass). As members share weights throughout the day, weights may not get reracked and/or get misplaced (e.g., one size of weight may be placed in a location designated for a different size of weight). Unsorted weights can result in members not efficiently locating their desired size and weight pairings (e.g., two 45 lbs. dumbbells) and can require gym employees and members to periodically scour gym facilities throughout the day to locate, move, use, sort and rack weights.
Introduced below are methods, apparatuses, and systems (collectively herein referred to as “technology”) related to dynamically and automatically sorting, moving, and racking weights based on various techniques. The technology is capable of detecting a weight's (e.g., a dumbbell's) characteristics (e.g., type, weight, material, brand, age, preferred use, dimensions, etc.), transporting the weight from a drop-off location to a desired weight location on a rack for easy access by a user. The technology can reduce time and energy exerted by gym staff (and/or members) who must otherwise manually locate, lift and sort weights into a proper orientation/position on a rack.
In one or more embodiments, the technology is an automated dumbbell racking system that includes various functions implemented into one or more weight rack mechanisms, linear rail mechanisms, transport mechanisms, loading mechanisms, and/or other mechanisms. Each “mechanism” includes technology and functionality that can be implemented separately and couple to technology and functionality implemented by other mechanisms, and/or a single mechanism can implement the technology and functionality of one or more of the individual mechanisms.
Gym members leave weights at one or more drop-off locations of the loading mechanism. In various embodiments, the loading mechanism, transport mechanism, and/or conveyor is configured with technology for identifying dumbbell characteristics for determining a type, size, configuration and/or weight of a dumbbell, for example. Various techniques are implemented by the technology for determining weight characteristics, such as one or more loading cells, scales or scanners (e.g., bar-code, QR-code, RF-ID detectors, etc.). Weight characteristics are stored (e.g., in RAM, a database, file or other means to store information), in some embodiments, for use by other mechanisms of the technology. The loading mechanism includes a feed assembly (e.g., a conveyor) with compartments for holding dumbbells while the feed assembly sequentially delivers dumbbells from the compartments to a transport mechanism. For example, after determining one or more characteristics (e.g., that a weight is a 15 pound dumbbell), the technology moves and releases (e.g., drops/pushes/releases/etc.) a dumbbell onto the loading mechanism and/or conveyor, which moves (e.g., in a forward/backward direction) one or more dumbbells to the transport mechanism (e.g., by allowing gravity to drop the dumbbell onto the transport mechanism after the dumbbell reaches the end of the conveyor).
The transport mechanism, in various embodiments, includes a load cell (e.g., a strain gage), lift and conveyor. The transport mechanism is configured to travel about a rail (discussed below) for moving dumbbells to dumbbell holders of a weight rack mechanism. Dumbbells are received at the transport mechanism's conveyor, which is configured to hold and move a dumbbell from a first end (i.e., a “receiving end”) of the conveyor to a second end (i.e., a “delivery end”) of the conveyor. The delivery end of the conveyor is positionable about a back end of a dumbbell holder of the weight rack mechanism, such that one or more dumbbells move on the conveyor from the delivery end of the conveyor onto the back end of the dumbbell holders (e.g., the conveyor can release, drop, push and/or otherwise reposition the dumbbell). In some embodiments, a lift is coupled to the transport mechanism and is configured to move dumbbells between an upper and a lower position of the transport mechanism for releasing weights at corresponding upper or lower levels shelves of dumbbell holders at the weight rack mechanism.
In some embodiments, the transport mechanism is equipped with technology for causing the transport mechanism to move to one or more assigned dumbbell holders based at least on one or more dumbbell characteristics. For example, the transport mechanism can independently move between various dumbbell holder locations via one or more motorized devices (e.g., a computer configured to operate a motor to move, via wheels or tracks, between one or more dumbbell holder locations). In some embodiments, the transport mechanism is configured to operate with a belt drive assembly of a rail (e.g., a guide rail system) that moves the transport mechanism about the length of the weight rack. In operation, in one or more embodiments, a dumbbell rests on the conveyor's transport mechanism as the transport mechanism moves (e.g., via the rail) a dumbbell to a location of the rack assigned to the dumbbell.
The rail mechanism can include one or more rails (e.g., linear guide rails) to directly or indirectly couple to the weight rack mechanism. When the transport mechanism reaches a desired location (e.g., a position on the rail that is in back of a dumbbell holder location), the technology automatically initiates operation of the transport mechanism's conveyor to transport the dumbbell from the transport mechanism into the designated dumbbell holder. If the dumbbell holder is at a lower/higher shelf than the conveyor is currently positioned, the technology, in one or more embodiments, automatically initiates operation of the lift to, for example, cause the actuator to move the conveyor to the lower/higher position. In various embodiments, when a rack is configured to use only a single shelf, the transport mechanism can be implemented without a lift. The transport mechanism, in some embodiments, can retrieve dumbbells from a dumbbell holder by reversing the conveyor in a direction opposite the direction used to move the dumbbell into a holder, for example, to move and/or resort dumbbells to new/different locations according to a schema based and/or dumbbell availability.
The weight rack mechanism, in some embodiments, is a stationary or semi-stationary weight rack that includes one or more dumbbell holders configured to store at least one dumbbell for manual retrieval by a user in a similar manner as weights are retrieved from traditional weight racks. As mentioned above, the weight rack mechanism can include one or more racks configured to be stacked on top and/or side-by-side other weight racks. This is useful because it allows a facility to custom configure racks based on the facilities' particular requirements (e.g., a weight rack mechanism with two levels of racks versus two single shelf racks configured in a side-by-side configuration). Each rack includes one or more dumbbell holder that is configured to receive one or more dumbbells from the transport mechanism (as described above). Dumbbell holders can be uniform in dimensions or be sized in accordance with a particular dumbbell configuration. For example, to maximize efficient use of space, in various embodiments, dumbbell holders are manually or automatically sized to store different types of dumbbells by, for example, automatically or manually moving dumbbell holder dividers closer together (e.g., for the 5 lb. dumbbell) or further apart (e.g., for the 85 lb. dumbbell).
A dumbbell holder can be predefined to store dumbbells based on one or more of dumbbell characteristics. For example, in a given row of dumbbell holders, each of several sets of holders can be configured to store progressively higher weight dumbbells (e.g., a set of two 5 lb. dumbbell holders, next to a set of two 10 lb. dumbbell holders, and up to, e.g., a set of two 85 lb. dumbbell holders.). Additionally and/or alternatively, dumbbell holders can store random dumbbells based on, for example, whether the dumbbell holder is a spare, not designated for a particular dumbbell, or designated for storing ‘random’ dumbbells. For example, each dumbbell holder can be assigned an address (e.g., a unique ID) which can be mapped to one or more dumbbell characteristics. For example, a dumbbell holder having an address of rack 1, shelf 2, location 4 of 10 (R1S2L4) can be assigned to store only 15 lb., unpadded dumbbells that are less than 2 years old. Or, for example, a dumbbell holder (e.g., R2S2L9) can have a blank address or be assigned to hold ‘random’ dumbbells to indicate that the dumbbell holder can store more than one type of dumbbell (e.g., both 45 lb. and 50 lb. dumbbells). Simple or complex mappings can be created by a user or dynamically determined by the technology to, e.g., partition portions of one or more racks to store newer/older weights, weights of a certain masses/sizes, padded/unpadded weights, gender-preferred weights, weights of the same brand, and/or other characteristics (e.g., color). Mappings can be manually or automatically programmed (e.g., via a computing device) and stored for retrieval by the technology for configuring new or modified rack layout schemas. In some embodiments, the technology can identify particular dumbbell holders (e.g., empty versus occupied dumbbell holders) using a variety of identification techniques, such as optical scanning (e.g., LED, LASER, or other light-based techniques), weight (e.g., an actuator and/or scale in the dumbbell holder configured to indicate whether the location is occupied), history (e.g., a log that stores present and past dumbbell placements), transducers (e.g., hall effect sensors), electrical switches (e.g., reed switches) and/or other detection/identification technologies and/or methodologies.
Certain details are set forth in the following description and in
Many of the details, dimensions, functions and other features shown and described in conjunction with the Figures are merely illustrative of particular embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, other embodiments can have other details, dimensions, functions and features without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that further embodiments of the disclosure can be practiced without several of the details described below.
The terminology used in the description presented below is intended to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the described technology. Certain terms may even be emphasized below; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as such in this Detailed Description section.
Some techniques introduced below can be implemented by programmable circuitry programmed or configured by software and/or firmware, or entirely by special-purpose circuitry, or in a combination of such forms. Such special-purpose circuitry (if any) can be in the form of, for example, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), programmable logic controllers (PLCs), logic boards, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.
Referring to
The input devices 102 may include a keyboard, a microphone, a sensor, a pointing device such as a mouse, and described technology for receiving human voice, touch, and/or sight (e.g., a microphone, a touch screen, and/or smart glasses). Other input devices are possible such as a joystick, pen, game pad, scanner, digital camera, video camera, and the like. The data storage devices 104 may include any type of computer-readable media that can store data accessible by the computer 100, such as magnetic hard and floppy disk drives, optical disk drives, magnetic cassettes, tape drives, flash memory cards, digital video disks (DVDs), Bernoulli cartridges, RAMs, ROMs, smart cards, etc. Indeed, any medium for storing or transmitting computer-readable instructions and data may be employed, including a connection port to or node on a network, such as a LAN, WAN, or the Internet (not shown in
In general, the detailed description of embodiments of the described technology is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the described technology to the precise form disclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the described technology are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the described technology, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while processes or blocks are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments may perform routines having steps, or employ systems having blocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. Each of these processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed in series, these processes or blocks may instead be performed in parallel, or may be performed at different times.
The teachings of the described technology provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described herein. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described herein can be combined to provide further embodiments.
The techniques introduced above can be implemented by programmable circuitry programmed or configured by software and/or firmware, or entirely by special-purpose circuitry, or in a combination of such forms. Such special-purpose circuitry (if any) can be in the form of, for example, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), programmable logic devices (PLCs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.
Software or firmware for implementing the techniques introduced here may be stored on a machine-readable storage medium and may be executed by one or more general-purpose or special-purpose programmable microprocessors. A “machine-readable medium,” as the term is used herein, includes any mechanism that can store information in a form accessible by a machine (a machine may be, for example, a computer, network device, cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), manufacturing tool, any device with one or more processors, etc.). For example, a machine-accessible medium includes recordable/non-recordable media (e.g., read-only memory (ROM)); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory devices; etc.).
The term “logic,” as used herein, can include, for example, special-purpose hardwired circuitry, software and/or firmware in conjunction with programmable circuitry, or a combination thereof.
These and other changes can be made to the described technology in light of the above Detailed Description. While the above description details certain embodiments of the described technology and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the described technology can be practiced in many ways. The described technology may vary considerably in its implementation details, while still being encompassed by the described technology disclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the described technology should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the described technology with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the described technology to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the described technology encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the described technology.
To reduce the number of claims, certain aspects of the described technology are presented below in certain claim forms, but the applicant contemplates the various aspects of the described technology in any number of claim forms. For example, while only one aspect of the described technology is recited as a means-plus-function claim under 35 U.S.C §112, 16, other aspects may likewise be embodied as a means-plus-function claim, or in other forms, such as being embodied in a computer-readable medium. (Any claims intended to be treated under 35 U.S.C. §112, 6 will begin with the words “means for,” but use of the term “for” in any other context is not intended to invoke treatment under 35 U.S.C. §112, 6.) Accordingly, the applicant reserves the right to pursue additional claims after filing this application to pursue such additional claim forms, in either this application or in a continuing application.
Claims
1. A method for an automated weight rack, comprising:
- receiving at least one weight at a first conveyor, wherein the first conveyor is configured to simultaneously hold a plurality of different types and masses of weights;
- delivering the at least one weight via the first conveyor to a second conveyor of a transport mechanism, wherein the second conveyor is configured to move weights about a first axis, wherein the transport mechanism is configured to move the second conveyor about a second axis that is substantially perpendicular to the first axis;
- identifying a characteristic of the at least one weight by the first conveyor and/or by the second conveyor, wherein the characteristic is one or more of a mass, size, type, color, ago and history;
- determining a position along a weight rack for delivering the at least one weight to a weight holder that is accessible to a user for retrieving the weight, based on the identified characteristic;
- moving the transport mechanism about the second axis and relative to the weight rack such that the second conveyor is at a location approximate to the determined position of the weight holder; and
- operating the second conveyor to move the at least one weight along the first axis to the determined position of the weight holder such that the at least one weight is delivered to the weight holder at a location available for retrieval by the user.
2. The method for an automated weight rack of claim 1, wherein the at least one weight is a dumbbell, wherein the characteristic is mass and wherein the mass is identified via a load cell associated with the second conveyor.
3. The method for an automated weight rack of claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism is configured to move along a third, vertical axis for repositioning weights to a plurality of weight racks of different heights.
4. The method for an automated weight rack of claim 1, wherein the first conveyor includes a motor for causing the first conveyor to sequentially delivery a plurality of dumbbells along a first loading end of the first conveyor to a second delivery end of the conveyor for delivering at least one of the plurality of dumbbells to the second conveyor and wherein the first conveyor moves the at least on dumbbell in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first axis associated with the second conveyor.
5. The method for an automated weight rack of claim 1, wherein determining a position along the weight rack for delivering the at least one weight to a weight holder is based on a determination that one or more weight holders on the weight rack are unoccupied.
6. An automated dumbbell sorting method, comprising:
- receiving one or more dumbbells at an automated dumbbell sorter;
- determining, by the dumbbell sorter, a mass of the one or more dumbbells;
- identifying, by the automated dumbbell sorter, one or more dumbbell holders for holding the one or more dumbbells for user access;
- transporting, by the automated dumbbell sorter, the one or more dumbbells to the one or more dumbbell holder locations, based on the mass of the one or more dumbbells; and
- delivering, by the automated dumbbell sorter, the one or more dumbbells to the identified one or more dumbbell holder locations for user retrieval.
7. The automated dumbbell sorting method of claim 6, wherein the dumbbells are received at conveyor configured to move the one or more dumbbells to a strain gauge and/or scale for determining the mass;
8. The automated dumbbell sorting method of claim 6, further comprising delivering the one or more dumbbells via a first conveyor to a second conveyor, wherein the first conveyor is configured to transport the one or more dumbbells via a first axis and the second conveyor is configured to transport the one or more dumbbells via a second axis for delivering the one or more dumbbells to the identified one or more dumbbell holder locations.
9. The automated dumbbell sorting method of claim 6, wherein identifying the one or more dumbbell holders for holding the one or more dumbbells is based on a predetermined schema, wherein the predetermined schema is associated with an address assigned to the one or more dumbbells and a characteristic of the one or more dumbbells, wherein the characteristic includes one or more of size and the mass.
10. The automated dumbbell sorting method of claim 6, Wherein the transporting of the one or more dumbbells to the one or more dumbbell holder locations is via one or more conveyors.
11. An automated dumbbell racking system, comprising:
- a weight rack including dumbbell holders, each dumbbell holder is configured to hold a dumbbell for retrieval by a user; and
- a dumbbell sorting apparatus including a loading mechanism configured to receive dumbbells; a transport mechanism movable to transport dumbbells from the loading mechanism to corresponding dumbbell holders of the weight rack.
12. The automated dumbbell racking system of claim 11, further comprising a controller programmed to:
- identify empty dumbbell holders based on one or more characteristics of the dumbbells held by the loading mechanism, and
- command the transport mechanism to sequentially transport dumbbells to corresponding empty dumbbell holders.
13. The automated dumbbell racking system of claim 11, wherein the weight rack includes an upper row of the dumbbell holders and a lower row of the dumbbell holders, and wherein the transport mechanism includes:
- a lift apparatus configured to vertically move the transport mechanism between the upper and lower rows of dumbbell holders, and
- a conveyor apparatus configured to move the transport mechanism along the weight rack to move the dumbbell carrier relative to the dumbbell holders.
14. The automated dumbbell racking system of claim 11, wherein the transport mechanism has at least one loading configuration for receiving dumbbells from the loading mechanism and at least one delivery configuration for delivering dumbbells to the dumbbell holders.
15. The automated dumbbell racking system of claim 11, wherein the transport mechanism includes a carrying mode for carrying a dumbbell along the weight rack and an unloading mode for moving the dumbbell into one of the dumbbell holders.
16. The automated dumbbell racking system of claim 11, wherein the transport mechanism is movable between a plurality of unloading positions, wherein the transport mechanism at each unloading position is positioned to deliver a dumbbell into a respective one of the dumbbell holders.
17. The automated dumbbell racking system of claim 11, wherein the loading mechanism includes a feed assembly with a plurality of compartments for holding dumbbells while the feed assembly sequentially delivers dumbbells from the compartments to the transport mechanism.
18. The automated dumbbell racking system of claim 11, wherein the transport mechanism is configured to deliver one or more dumbbells to the dumbbell holders while the loading mechanism holds dumbbells ready to be repositioned.
19. An automated dumbbell racking system, comprising:
- a weight rack means, the weight rack means including dumbbell holders, each dumbbell holder is configured to hold a dumbbell for retrieval by a user; and
- a dumbbell sorting means, the dumbbell sorting means including a loading means configured to receive dumbbells; a transport means movable to transport dumbbells from the loading mechanism to corresponding dumbbell holders of the weight rack.
20. The automated dumbbell racking system of claim 19, further comprising a controller means to:
- identify empty dumbbell holders based on one or more characteristics of the dumbbells held by the loading mechanism, and
- command the transport means to sequentially transport dumbbells to corresponding empty dumbbell holders; wherein the transport means includes: a lift means configured to vertically move the transport means between the upper and lower rows of dumbbell holders; and a conveyor means configured to move the transport means along the weight rack to move the dumbbell carrier relative to the dumbbell holders, wherein the transport means is configured to deliver one or more dumbbells to the dumbbell holders while the loading means holds dumbbells ready to be repositioned.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 19, 2015
Publication Date: Apr 21, 2016
Inventors: Greg Zimmerman (New York, NY), Ben Zimmerman (Brooklyn, NY), Justin Hiskey (Baltimore, MD), Aditya Karan Sharma (Philadelphia, PA), Saurabh Arora (Jersey City, NJ)
Application Number: 14/887,149