Instrumented batting system
First Claim
1. A batting system comprising:
- a batting tee assembly that includes;
a ball rest having a top configured to hold a ball in a stationary position;
a first radar device having a first emission point located below the top of the ball rest and configured to emit a first radar beam having a first radar vector from the first emission point; and
a second radar device having a second emission point located below the top of the ball rest, the second radar device configured to emit a second radar beam having a second radar vector from the second emission point, the second radar vector being oriented in a different direction than the first radar vector,the second radar device being offset horizontally from the first radar device so that a horizontal distance between the second radar device and the ball rest is greater than the horizontal distance between the first radar device and the ball rest.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An instrumented batting system measures a bat speed and an exit velocity as a batter swings a bat and initiates contact between the bat and a ball positioned on a batting tee assembly. The batting tee assembly includes a bat speed radar device and an exit velocity radar device each in communication with a computing device. The bat speed radar device emits a radar beam that intersects a swing plane of the batter in a direction generally toward an expected position of the batter. The exit velocity radar device emits another radar beam that intersects a flight path of the ball in another direction generally away from the expected position of the batter. The system determines the bat speed and exit velocity using the radar beams, calculates a batting metric based on the bat speed and exit velocity, and displays the swing metric using a computing device.
39 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A batting system comprising:
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a batting tee assembly that includes; a ball rest having a top configured to hold a ball in a stationary position; a first radar device having a first emission point located below the top of the ball rest and configured to emit a first radar beam having a first radar vector from the first emission point; and a second radar device having a second emission point located below the top of the ball rest, the second radar device configured to emit a second radar beam having a second radar vector from the second emission point, the second radar vector being oriented in a different direction than the first radar vector, the second radar device being offset horizontally from the first radar device so that a horizontal distance between the second radar device and the ball rest is greater than the horizontal distance between the first radar device and the ball rest. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A batting system comprising:
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a ball rest configured to hold a ball in a stationary position within a swing plane of a batter, the ball rest having a center line coincident with a vertical axis of a coordinate system having a horizontal axis orthogonal to the vertical axis, and a lateral axis orthogonal to the vertical axis and the horizontal axis, so that a plane defined by the horizontal axis and the lateral axis is generally parallel to the swing plane; a first radar device having a first emission point located below the swing plane and configured to emit a first radar beam having first radar vector from the first emission point, the first radar vector being directed upward at an angle of between 0 and 80 degrees relative to the horizontal axis and generally toward an expected position of the batter; and a second radar device offset horizontally from the first radar device away from the expected position of the batter, the second radar device having a second emission point located below the swing plane and configured to emit a second radar beam having second radar vector from the second emission point, the second radar vector being directed upward at an angle of between 0 and 80 degrees relative to the horizontal axis and away from the first radar vector. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of determining and displaying a swing metric, the method comprising:
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holding a ball in a stationary position within a swing plane of a batter along a center line coincident with a vertical axis of a coordinate system having a horizontal axis orthogonal to the vertical axis, and a lateral axis orthogonal to the vertical axis and the horizontal axis, so that a plane defined by the horizontal axis and the lateral axis is generally parallel to the swing plane; emitting a first radar beam having first radar vector from a first emission point located below the swing plane, the first radar vector being directed upward at an angle of between 0 and 80 degrees relative to the horizontal axis and generally toward an expected position of the batter; and emitting a second radar beam having second radar vector from a second emission point located below the swing plane, the second radar vector being directed upward at an angle of between 0 and 80 degrees relative to the horizontal axis and away from the first radar vector, the second emission point being offset horizontally from the first emission point and away from the expected position of the batter.
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19. The method of 18 further comprising:
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determining a bat speed using the first radar beam; determining an exit velocity using the second radar beam; and determining a conversion factor equal to a ratio of the exit velocity to the bat speed. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification