US 6434212

Patent Analysis: US 6434212

Date of Analysis: 2026-05-11

This report provides a concise summary of United States Patent 6,434,212, titled "Pedometer." The analysis is based on the full patent text available from official sources.

I. Patent Overview

Title	Pedometer
Assignee	Blackbird Tech LLC (as of most recent assignment)
Inventor(s)	Nathan Pyles
Filing Date	2001-01-04
Issue Date	2002-08-13
Priority Date	1998-10-28
Legal Status	Expired
Abstract	The pedometer having improved accuracy by calculating actual stride lengths of a user based on relative stride rates. The pedometer includes a waist or leg mounted stride counter, a transmitter for transmitting data to a wrist-mounted display unit, and a data processor for calculating necessary base units and actual stride rates and lengths. The pedometer can also interact with a heart monitoring device.

II. Independent Claims in Plain Language

US Patent 6,434,212 has four independent claims (1, 2, 5, and 6). Below is a plain-language explanation of what each of these claims protects.

Claim 1: This claim describes an exercise monitoring device that includes a strap to attach it to a user, a step counter, and a heart rate monitor, which are all joined to the strap. The core of this invention is a data processor that calculates the distance traveled by multiplying the number of steps taken by a stride length. Crucially, this stride length is not fixed; it changes based on the rate at which the user is taking steps (their cadence).

Claim 2: This claim is for a similar exercise monitoring device with a strap, step counter, and heart rate monitor. The key feature here is that the data processor determines the variable stride length by referring to multiple calibrations. Each of these calibrations establishes a stride length based on a known stride rate, creating a set of reference points to improve accuracy.

Claim 5: This claim also covers an exercise monitoring device with a strap, step counter, and heart rate monitor. The innovation lies in how the data processor calculates the stride length. It derives the stride length from a range of possible stride lengths that have been pre-calculated from a corresponding range of stride rates during a series of calibration samples. This allows the device to estimate stride length more accurately across different speeds.

Claim 6: This claim focuses on the system architecture of a pedometer. It includes a step counter and a transmitter that sends a signal for each step. A separate receiver, which can be mounted on the user's body (like a wrist), picks up these signals. A data processor then calculates the distance traveled by using a variable stride length that changes with the step rate. The processor determines the appropriate stride length by using a pre-calculated range of stride lengths that correspond to a range of stride rates.

III. Litigation and Legal Status

A review of available data indicates that US Patent 6,434,212 has a history of litigation, including multiple cases filed in the District of Delaware and several inter partes review (IPR) proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The patent's listed legal status is "Expired - Lifetime," with an anticipated expiration date of 2018-10-28, based on its priority date. A search of the CAFC dockets for 2026 did not yield any active cases for this patent number, which is consistent with its expired status.