Admittance device for body treatment

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an admittance device for admitting a user access to body treatment devices and body treatment systems, such as suntan centres or fitness centres.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Today many people undergo different body treatments in order to improve their physical shape, looks or well-being. Body treatments are in this connection often offered through unstaffed body treatment centres such as unstaffed suntan centres or fitness centres. The users can therefore typically get access to the body treatments any time at the day, and the body treatments are further very cheap as no staff is needed.

Some users often want the unstaffed body treatment centres to offer discount to users that frequently use the body treatment centre. Frequent users can then for instance buy for a certain amount of money and achieve a discount. Frequent users typically achieve the discount by buying a multiple number of body treatments at the same time, and the unstaffed body treatment centre hereafter provides a credit card with an amount of access points that the user can spend to access the body treatment. The user then gets access to the body treatment through an admittance device at the body treatment centre using the credit card and a password. The admittance device therefore has a credit card reader and a keyboard and can admit the user acess to a body treatment using information stored on the credit card and password. The discount is applied e.g. buy providing the user with ten access points when he/she buys eight points, thus the user gets two access points for free. An alternative to the discount for frequent users is that some users want body treatment centres to offer a subscription service where he/she can pay for unlimited access to the body treatments for a given period of time. However,

most body treatment centres do not offer discount or subscription services due to the fact that different users can share the same credit card and thus achieve a discount or, without being entitled to it, abuse one user's subscription service. As a consequence, owners of the body treatment centres will experince a loss in turnover and profit.

It is further very important to apply the body treatment correctly in order to obtain as much effect of the body treatment as possible and in order to avoid damage of the body. This is especially important in connection with solariums where the user undergoes a suntan treatment where the user often wants as much tanning effect as possible. The user therefore often uses very powerful solariums for a long period of time in order to achieve maximum tanning effect; on the other hand this is also a risky treatment because the user's skin might get burned if the suntan treatment is too powerful or the treatment period too long. Today many people use unstaffed suntan centres with a number of solariums where the user activates the solariums through an admittance device. The user chooses the suntan treatment through the admittance device, for instance by choosing type of solarium and/or treatment time. There is therefore a great risk that the user might damage his/her skin when using unstaffed suntan centres because the user needs to choose/set the suntan treatment by hirrWherself. It is impossible to use a standard suntan procedure in the suntan centre because the suntan treatment depends on individual factors of the user, such as skin type and time since last suntan treatment. In order to avoid that the user gets sunburned posters and/or flyers informing about the suntan treatments according to the user's skin type have been provided in most suntan centres, such that the user can use these in order to choose the right treatment. The posters and/or flyers typically provide instructions such that the user can determine his/her skin type and based hereon provide recommendations as to how the user should use the suntan centre. It is often very difficult for the user to determine his/her skin type using posters/flyers because the skin type

is determined in a very cumbersome process based on a number of questions - often with the result that many users might match different skin types. Many users do therefore not use the posters/flyers and therefore choose suntan treatment randomly.

Correct body treatment is further important in connection with physical training such as weight and fitness training where it is important to apply the right training in order to get maximum effect out of the training and to avoid injuries and overtraining. Just like the situation described above with unstaffed suntan centres, people also use unstaffed training facilities such as a fitness centre with a number of exercising devices. In this case there is a risk that a user might perform inappropriate training and thus not get the desired effect or become over trained. Like the suntan system, unstaffed fitness centres often have a number of posters and flyers providing guidelines for the training, however, it is very difficult to provide specific guidelines through information posters and/or flyers because there are many individual aspects that must be considered when guiding persons in physical training. There is therefore a risk that users would not workout appropriately. The training equipment is in most unstaffed fitness centres placed in a securely locked room and the users get access to the room by using an access card unlocking the room. The users typically pay a certain amount of money in order to receive the access card, however, many users might share the same access card and the owners of the unstaffed fitness centre therefore loose money.

OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to solve the above mentioned problems in connection with users accessing body treatment centres.

This is achieved by an admittance device for admitting a user access to body treatment, e.g. in a fitness centre or a suntan centre, said admittance device comprises:

- at least one body sensor for detecting at least one body characteristic of said user,

- a database comprising a link between said detected body characteristics and the ID of said user,

- identification means for identifying said user in said database based on the body characteristics and said ID , - admitting means for admitting said user access to said body treatment based on the identification performed by said identification means.

Hereby it is possible to offer discounts and subscription services for unstaffed body treatment centres without the risk of the users abusing the discount or subscription service by sharing the same user account. The admittance device can admit a user access to body treatment based on the user's ID and body characteristics and it is therefore possible to prevent users with wrong ID and body characteristics from accessing the body treatment in question. This could for instance be users that have not paid for the body treatment and/or users that would be harmed due to certain body characteristics. This is achieved because it is possible to uniquely identify users based on unique body characteristics, such as fingerprint, eye structure, DNA ₁ facial structure etc. due to the link between the user's body characteristics and the user ID. It is therefore impossible for two users to share one user account giving access to the body treatment, because the admittance device could be adapted only to grant access to the body treatment if the body characteristics measured by the body sensor match the body characteristics linking the to ID of the user. Further, the admittance device could prevent users with wrong body characteristics from accessing the body treatment - e.g. denying access to a sunburned person trying to access a solarium or preventing a person with muscle injuries or a heart defect form using training equipment. The body

sensor could be any device suitable for measuring body characteristics of the user - e.g. a fingerprint scanner scanning the topography of the user's fingers, an eye scanner measuring properties of the user's eye, heart monitors measuring properties of the user's heart such as EKG ₁ stethoscopes, skin sensors measuring properties of the user's skin - e.g. color scanners measuring the skin color, muscle scanners measuring properties of the user's muscles, etc. The database could be embodied in a data memory storage, e.g. on a server connected to a network or integrated as a part of the admittance device, and could besides the link between the detected body characteristics and the ID of said user also comprise user specific data such as address, telephone number, age, gender, user habits defining how the user uses the body treatment etc. The identification means could for instance be embodied as a processor instructed to search through the database in order to find the link between the body characteristics and the user ID and thereby identify the user. The admittance could be any means suitable for giving a user access to a body treatment, for instance means for activating or deactivating the body treatment or means that physically prevent the user from accessing the body treatment.

In another embodiment the admittance device further comprises a database comprising user subscription data which are linked to said user ID, said subscription data specifies the time period for which said user has subscribed to said body treatment, and wherein said admitting means for admitting said user access to said body treatment is further based on said user subscription data.

The user's access to the body treatment could then be based on the user's subscription data defining the time period for which the user has subscribed to the body treatment. It is therefore possible to offer a subscription service where a user can pay for unlimited use of the body treatment service for a given period of time.

In another embodiment the admittance device further comprises:

- a database comprising body data specific for said user and which are linked to said user ID,

- processing means for determining, based on said body data, at least one usage recommendation in relation to said body treatment.

The admittance device could hereby determine a usage recommendation in relation to the body treatment based on body data related to the user. The usage recommendation could for instance be a set of guidelines defining how the user could advantageously use said body treatment. The usage recommendation would be unique for each user and match each specific user, since the usage recommendation is determined based on user specific body data. The usage recommendation could for instance define how long a time period the user ought to undergo the body treatment in order to achieve a given effect; it could define how the user should use the body treatment equipment in order to achieve a given effect, instruct the user not to undergo the body treatment at all etc. The specific body data could be any parameters related to the user's body entered in the database - e.g. information relating to skin type, hair/eye colour, the user's tendency to become sunburned, resting/maximum heart rate, blood type, age, allergic information, information on the user's disease history, etc. The usage recommendation could for instance be presented to the user, and he/she could hereafter choose how to use the body treatment.

In another embodiment of the admittance device, the processing means is adapted to use said body characteristics detected by said body sensor, as at least a part of said body data, when determining said usage recommendation. Hereby it is possible to determine the usage recommendation based on measured body characteristics and the usage recommendation could therefore be determined on basis of actual body conditions of the user. This is advantageously because some body

characteristics may change over time and thus need to be updated in order to determine a usage recommendation correctly. For instance in connection with the use of solariums it could be advantageously to measure the user's skin colour in order to determine to how much UV light the user could be exposed before getting sunburned. Further, in connection with training equipment it could be advantageously to measure the physical fitness of the user in order to recommend a suitable training program.

In another embodiment the admittance device further comprises a body property detector wherein at least a part of said body data is obtained from said body property detector. Hereby it is possible to obtain body properties being different form the body characteristics detected by the body sensor. For instance body properties that are only used to determine the usage recommendation.

In another embodiment of the admittance device, said at least one body sensor is a fingerprint sensor adapted to register the finger topography of said user or an eye sensor adapted to identify properties of the eye of the user. The user can then be uniquely identified based on his/her fingerprint or eye structure, and it is hereby achieved that only the users who have a fingerprint or an eye structure that matches a fingerprint or eye structure in the database can access the body treatment. This prevents that two users can share the same user account and thus get access to the body treatment. Further, since the user is uniquely identified, it is ensured that the usage recommendation is determined on basis of correct user data and hereby wrong usage recommendations are avoided.

In another embodiment the admittance device further comprises means for communicating with a central database. The user specific user data could hereby be stored in a central database, and the admittance device could then access the database by communicating with the database. Hereby it is

achieved that a multiple number of admittance devices could use the same central database, and as a result the user can use different admittance devices. This could for instance be admittance devices admitting access to different body treatments or admittance devices placed at different geographical places. The central database could further be adapted to communicate with other devices than admittance devices. For instance a PC from which the user could access his/her user data stored in the database in order to see, edit or delete data. Further, statistical information of the different users and their use of body treatments could be derived from the central database. This statistical information could help the providers of the body treatments to improve their services, for instance by increasing the amount of body treatments or offering new kinds of body treatments.

In a further embodiment the admittance device comprises means for receiving payment in relation to said body treatment. Hereby it is possible for the body treatment provider to receive payment from the user before giving the user access to the body treatment service.

In a further embodiment the admittance device comprises means for at least partly controlling said body treatment e.g. in relation to said usage recommendation. Hereby it is possible for the admittance device to prevent users from accessing the body treatment for instance in the case that the body characteristics or body properties of the user indicate that the body treatment would potentially harm the user. This could for instance be the case if the skin colour of a solarium user is very red, indicating that the user is sunburned, and the admittance advice could then prevent the user form accessing the solarium, or in the case of a fitness centre, where the body properties could indicate that the user has a heart disease and thus must not use physical training equipment.

In a further embodiment the admittance device comprises means for registering the usage of said body treatment. Hereby it is possible to record how the different users use the body treatment. This information could then later on e used when determining usage recommendations such that the recommendation would fit previous body treatments. Further, the body treatment provider could extract statistical information about the user's usage of the specific body treatment and use this information to improve the body treatment service. Further, the users could be offered special offers according to their usage pattern.

The present invention further relates to a method of admitting a user access to a body treatment, e.g. in a fitness centre or a suntan centre, said method comprises the steps of:

- identifying at least one body characteristic of said user, - identifying said user in said database comprising a link between said identified body characteristics and the ID of said user based on the identified body characteristics,

- admitting said user access to said body treatment based on said identification of said user. Hereby the above advantages are achieved.

In another embodiment the method comprises:

- identifying subscription data specifying the time period for which said user has subscribed to said body treatment in a database comprising said user subscription data and which are linked to said user ID, and where said step of admitting said user access to said body treatment is further based on said identification of said subscription data.

Hereby the above advantages are achieved.

In another embodiment the method comprises:

- determining, based on said body data specific for said user, at least one usage recommendation in relation to said body treatment.

Hereby the above advantages are achieved.

In another embodiment of the method, the body characteristics detected by said body sensor are used as at least a part of said body data, when determining said usage recommendation. Hereby the above advantages are achieved.

In a further embodiment of the method the body treatment is detected and said usage recommendation is determined further based on previously detected usage. Hereby the above advantages are achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described referring to the figures, where

figure 1 illustrates a block diagram of a suntan centre comprising an admittance device according to the present invention,

figure 2 illustrates a flow diagram of how a user would use the suntan centre and admittance device illustrated in figure 1 ,

figure 3 illustrates step (211 ) of the flow diagram shown in figure 2 in detail and

figure 4 illustrates a network of admittance devices according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In order to simplify the description the present invention has been described as an admittance device to be used in a suntan system, where a user gets access to use a solarium through the admittance device. The present invention can, however, also be embodied in connection with other body treatments such as fitness centres, massage devices etc. where the user gets access to body treatments.

Figure 1 illustrates a suntan system comprising an admittance device (101 ) according to the present invention used in a suntan centre. The admittance device is embodied as a microprocessor, microcontroller, PC or the like comprising processing means (103), volatile (105) and none-volatile (107) storage means, a number of input/output ports (109a - 109f) for communication with peripherical devices, and a network adapter enabling the admittance device to communicate through a data network (113) such as LAN, WAN, the internet etc. The user communicates with the admittance device through input (115)/output (117) means such as keyboard, mouse, touchpad, trackball, touch screens, monitors, speakers etc. connected to input/output ports (109a) and (109b) or integrated as a part of the admittance device (101). The suntan centre comprises a number of solariums (119a, 119b) connected to the admittance device, and the admittance device can admit a user access to one of the solarium - for instance by activating and deactivating the solariums or by controlling a door locking system enabling the user to open the door into a room where the solarium is positioned. Further, the suntan centre comprises a payment system (121) such as a credit card terminal or a cash machine adapted to receive payment from a user, where said payment system is also connected to the admittance device. The payment system makes it possible for the user to pay in order to access/use a solarium,, e.g. by opening a subscriber account where the user pays an amount of money for unlimited access to the suntan service for a given period of time.

The admittance system is connected to a number of body sensors embodied as a fingerprint scanner (123) and a body property detector embodied as a skin color scanner (125). The fingerprint scanner is used to uniquely identify the user, and the skin color scanner is used to determine the skin color of the user in order to determine a usage recommendation outlining how the user should use a solarium. Instead of the fingerprint scanner for identifying the user, other body sensors where the identification is based on body characteristics of the user could be used - e.g. an iris scanner, a facial scanner, a DNA scanner, a voice recognizer etc. Likewise, other body property detectors could be used in order to determine the usage recommendation.

In this embodiment the admittance device comprises a user register stored as a database in the non-volatile memory (107) or an external server connected to the network (127). The database stores user specific data such as user ID, address, telephone number, age, gender, user habits defining how the user uses the suntan centre, identification data, body specific conditions of the user, subscription data specifying the time period for which the user has subscribed to the body treatment service, etc. The identification data is suitable for identifying the user, and could for instance be a personal user name and access code or unique body characteristics such as fingerprints, DNA, facial structures, iris structures, voice characteristics etc. Further, the body characteristics could be used as a link in order to identify the ID of the user. The physical conditions could for instance define the user's skin type, the color of the skin, the number of freckles or birth marks, eye or hair colour etc.

The admittance device makes it possible to admit a user access to the suntan service based on the user's ID and body characteristics. It is hereby possible to prevent users with wrong ID and body characteristics from accessing the suntan service in question. It is hereby possible to offer a

suntan subscription service where the user pays for unlimited access to the suntan service, without the suntan service provider risking that malicious users abuse the subscription service. This is achieved because it is possible to uniquely identify the users based on unique body characteristics, such as fingerprint, eye structure, DNA ₁ facial structure, etc. due to the link between the user's body characteristics and the user ID. It is therefore impossible for two users to share one user account giving access to the suntan service because the admittance device could be adapted only to grant access to the suntan service if the body characteristics measured by the body sensor match the body characteristics linked to the ID of the user. The database could be embodied in a data memory storage, e.g. on a server connected to a network or integrated as part of the admittance device, and could besides the link between the detected body characteristics and the ID of said user also comprise user specific data such as address, telephone number, age, gender and user habits defining how the user uses the body treatment service. The identification means could for instance be embodied as a processor instructed to search through the database in order to find the link between the body characteristics and the user ID and thereby identify the user.

In one embodiment the suntan centre could also comprise a vending machine (not shown) offering for instance suntan lotion and other types of body lotion. The vending machine could be connected to the admittance device such that the user could activate the vending machine from the admittance device. The vending machine could in one embodiment be carried out as a dispenser device adapted to automatically dispense an amount of sun lotion when the user puts his/her hands below the dispenser device.

Figure 2 illustrates a flow diagram of an embodiment of the method according the present invention. The flow diagram illustrates how the admittance device

illustrated in figure 1 acts when a user wants to use one of the solariums in the suntan centre. Solid lines indicate the flow path and dashed lines indicate communication storage and peripherical devices. The admittance device is initialized in step (201 ) such that it gets configured to communicate with the input/output devices (115, 117), the solariums (119a, 119b), the payment system (121), the fingerprint scanner (123), the skin color scanner (125) and optionally a network (113). The admittance device is further configured for communication with a user (203) via input means and a graphical user interface displayed on a screen as described in figure 1. Initially the user (203) starts to use the admittance device, and the admittance device asks in step (205) if the user has used the suntan centre before and thus is a registered user. The admittance device starts up a registration process (207) where a new user record is created in a user register (209) if the user has not used the suntan centre before. The registration process comprises a step where the user enters personal information such as name, address, age, phone number, e-mail, etc. Further, the topography of the user's finger is determined by the fingerprint scanner (123) in order to establish a unique identification of the new user. The finger topography could later on be used to identify the user and link the user to the user record stored in the user register. The user is also requested to answer a number of questions in order for the admittance device to determine the user's skin type. The questions could for instance relate to how often the user gets sunburned, in what degree the user tends to be tanned when exposed to the sun, the color of the user's hair and eyes, whether or not the user has freckles or birth marks. Further, the user's skin type could be determined by acquiring information about the skin color of the user from the skin color scanner (125). The information is stored in the user register, and the admittance device could thus access and use this information when necessary.

On the other hand, if the user has used the suntan centre before, the admittance device starts a login process (211), where the admittance device

identifies the user and the user's user record in the use register (209). The user is in this embodiment identified through the fingerprint scanner (123) and the user therefore places his/her finger at the fingerprint scanner which scans the topography of the finger, and the user record is identified by finding the user record that matches the finger topography. Other body characteristics as described in figure 1 could be used when identifying the user, and further the user could be identified by requiring the user to enter an account name and password, by using a member card formed for instance as a credit card or by communication with the user's mobile phone.

The user is in step (213) offered a number of options, e.g. the possibility of editing his/her user data (215), starting a payment process (217) or starting to use a solarium (219). A data editing process is started up, if the user wants to edit his/her user data, The data editing process makes it possible for the user to change his/her user data stored in the data register (209) for instance in order to register address changes, change member status, change preferred settings etc. The user could also choose to perform a payment enabling the user to access suntan services that require payment, e.g by renewing his/her subscription period by paying a certain amount of money. This is achieved through the payment system (121 ) which allows the user to pay an amount of money for instance by using a credit card or cash. The payment system would in the case of credit card payment be securely connected to a money transfer server (not shown) as known in the art of payments systems and thereby allow credit card payments. The payment would be registered in the user record in the user register, and the subscription data is also renewed such that the subscription period corresponds to the paid amount of money. The payment system could alternatively be embodied as an automatic payment system that automatically transfers money from the user's bank account to the body treatment service provider, and the automatic payment would also update the

subscription data in the user record. The user is in this way always sure that he/she has access to the body treatment service.

A solarium activation process (219) is activated when a user wants to use a solarium. The solarium activation process comprises the step of determining (221) at least one usage recommendation recommending how the user should use the suntan service.

The usage recommendation is determined on the basis of user data stored in the user record (209) and on basis of the current skin color of the user measured by the skin color scanner (125). The usage recommendation would inform the user as to how he/she should use the suntan system in order to achieve as much tanning effect as possible without getting sunburned. The usage recommendation could for instance recommend which solarium the user should use, for how long time the user should use the solarium, recommend the user to use a certain sun lotion or recommend the user not to use the solarium.

Users with very dark skin are less likely to be sunburned and the usage recommendation therefore suggests to users with dark skin to use the more powerful solariums and/or use the solarium for a longer period of time than would be the case for users with pale skin. On the other hand, the usage recommendation could recommend the user not to use the solarium if the user's skin colour is very red indicating that the user is already sunburned. The specific user data entered by the user when creating a user record is also used when determining the usage recommendation and the colour of the user's eyes could also be used when determining to how much sun the user may be exposed. Blue eyed persons are typically more sensitive to sun exposure than persons with brown eyes. Further, persons with many freckles or birth marks are typically much more sensitive to sun exposure than persons with no freckles or birth marks. In addition to the body

characteristics, other parameters like e.g. usage history defining how the user has previously used the suntan centre might also be used. Users that are often exposed to the sun are typically more resistant to sun exposure.

The usage recommendation could for instance be classified into three usage recommendations defining the amount of sun to which the user should be exposed:

- Limited amount of sun, 0-5 minutes of sun exposure - Moderate amount of sun, 5-15 minutes of sun exposure

- High amount of sun, more than 15 minutes of sun exposure

The user could thereafter, on the basis of the recommendation, decide for how long he/she wants to be exposed to the sun.

The usage recommendation could also be determined on the basis of information defining the effect of the different solariums available in the suntan centre and/or available sun protection lotion. Such a recommendation could for instance define for how long the user should use a certain type of solarium and what kind of sun lotion the user should use. One advantage of this is that the usage recommendation is determined on the basis of whether or not the sun tubes in a solarium are all-new or old and worn out. Hereby it is possible to avoid that a user gets sunburned because he/she uses a solarium with new sun tubes for the period of time that he/she is used to. This is achieved by measuring the intensity of the UV light emitted from the solariums and hereafter using the intensity when determining the usage recommendation. The intensity could be measured by using standard photo detectors and be entered in the admittance device manually, e.g. by a service technician or it could be measured online by connecting the admittance device to a photo detector.

A set of usage recommendations defining different ways of using the suntan centre could in one embodiment be presented to the user, who could thereafter choose to use the suntan centre according to one of the usage recommendations. Such a set of usage recommendations could for instance be presented as a list where each bullet point defines a usage recommendation:

- Solarium type 1 for 5 minutes not using sun protection cream

- Solarium type 1 for 10 minutes using sun protection cream type A - Solarium type 1 for 15 min using sun protection cream type B

- Solarium type 2 for 5 minutes using sun protection cream type A

- Solarium type 2 for 10 minutes using sun protection cream type B

The usage recommendations would be presented to the user on the screen, whereafter the user in step (223) chooses how to use the suntan centre for instance by choosing one of the usage recommendations or by manually setting the solarium.

Once the user has chosen how he/she wants to use the suntan centre, the admittance device checks (225) if the user has paid enough money to use the suntan service, and the payment process (217) is activated if an insufficient amount of money has been paid. On the other hand, if the user has paid enough money, the admittance device would thereafter activate the solarium (227) that the user wants to use after which the user receives his/her body treatment.

Figure 3 illustrates an example of how the usage recommendation could be determined. In step (301) the user's skin type is determined based on user specific data stored in the user register (209). This could for instance be the results of the questions responded to by the user during the registration process (207), e.g. how often the user gets sunburned, in what degree the

147

19

user tends to be tanned when exposed to the sun, the colour of the user's hair and eyes, whether or not the user has freckles or birth marks. Hereafter the correct amount of sun exposure for this specific user is determined (303) on basis of the current skin color of the user and the skin type determined in step (301 ). The amount of sun exposure could for instance be categorized on a scale ranging from 1 to 200, where 1 indicates that the user can be exposed to very much sun without getting sunburned and where 200 indicates that the user cannot be exposed to sun at all. The categorization is in step (307) used together with information about the different solariums (119a, 119b) to determine the usage recommendation defining how the user could use the different solariums in the suntan centre.

Figure 4 illustrates a network of admittance devices according to the present invention. A number of admittance devices, for instance suntan centres (401a, 401b) and fitness centre (402), have been connected to a network (1139) such as the internet. The admittance devices in the network share a central database comprising the user data and stored on a central server (127) connected to the network. The users get access to the body treatment by physically using one of the admittance devices as described above, and the user can use all of the admittance devices. Further, the user (203) can access his/her own user data stored on the central server (127) for instance through an internet account on a webpage. The user can therefore, for instance at home, see, edit or delete user data stored in the central database. Further, the user could perform a prepayment of body treatments through the internet account. The owner (403) of the suntan centre or fitness centre could also access the data stored on the central server and e.g. extract statistical information about the users.

It is to be understood that the shown embodiments only serve as describing examples and that a person skilled in the art would be able to construct other

embodiments which differ from the shown embodiments without diverging from the scope of the claims.