Systems and methods of sports training using specific biofeedback

• US 20030216228A1
• Filed: 05/17/2003
• Published: 11/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Rodger H. Rast
• Original Assignee: Rodger H. Rast
• Inventors: Rast, Rodger H.
• Application Number:
  US10/440,555
• Publication Number:
  US 20030216228A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 482/84
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2047/022 Autonomous machines which find their own way around the playing surface
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0625 Emitting sound, noise or music
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/0087 of the piston-cylinder type using hydraulic piston-cylinder type force resistors A63B21/0083
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/0783 Safety features for bar-bells, e.g. drop limiting means
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/53 Force of an impact, e.g. blow or punch
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 47/021 for picking-up automatically, e.g. by apparatus moving over the playing surface
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/305 Hanging heavy punching bags
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/32 with indicating devices
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/3635 with sound-emitting source

Abstract

Apparatus for providing biofeedback sports training are described to improve training in a convenient form. Aspects include a sparring device that converts impact and training rates into audio streams following human speech patterns. A device is described for coaching swings such as in golf. Another aspect of the invention is a strength training device utiling a multicylinder piston device.

Claims

1. A sparring device providing an audio output in response to impacts registered thereupon, comprising:

a striking input member adapted for receiving blows from a user sparring against said striking input member;

an impact sensor coupled to said striking input member to register the impact force imparted by said user to said strking input member; and

means for converting the registered impact force to an audio output which represents the intensity of the impact.

2. A sparring device as recited in claim 1, wherein the audio output comprises sounds which simulate a human being struck.

3. A sparring device as recited in claim 2, wherein said sounds may be selected from organic human sounds consisting of moans, groans, sighs, and verbal banter.

4. A sparring device as recited in claim 1, further comprising means for tracking the amount of damage accumulated in response to the impacts within a given sparring session.

5. A sparring device as recited in claim 4:

further comprising means for establishing an accumulated damage threshold above which the sparring session is considered to be complete;

wherein audio output may be generated that is indicative of completion of the sparring session.

6. A sparring device as recited in claim 5, further comprising means for reducing the accumulated damage per unit of time to simulate the recovery of the opponent during a sparring match.

7. A sparring device as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for converting the registered impact force to an audio output which represents the intensity of the impact comprises a microcontroller registering the impact force which is mapped to a selected audio output.

8. A sparring device as recited in claim 7, wherein said selected audio output comprises humanlike sounds consisting of groans and moans.

9. A sparring device as recited in claim 7, wherein said selected audio output comprises humanlike sounds consisting of verbal banter.

10. A sparring unit for attachment to a striking device used for sparring that provides audio feedback in response to the force of impact and the simulated “

damage”

incurred by a user on said sparring unit for a given session, comprising;

an impact sensor adapted for registering the force of impacts during sparring;

a computer processing element coupled to said impact sensor having programming for,

registering said impact forces,

determining an amount of damage to accrue for a given impact and adding the damage for successive impacts during said session,

generating appropriate humanlike sounds according to the force of the impact registered and the accrued damage;

a housing for retaining said computer processing element adapted for attachment to a striking device and containing a power source for said impact sensor and said computer processing element.

11. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, wherein impact is registered as G-forces by an accelerometer.

12. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, wherein wherein audio may include simulated verbal commentary, moans, groans, grunts, and other sounds which may be associated with an individual being struck during combat or a match.

13. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, wherein an audio sound is output to augment the sound of the strike itself on a selected surface.

14. A sparring unit as recited in claim 13, wherein said augmented strike sound comprises snapping sounds similar to that used in a karate movie for accentuating the action.

15. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, wherein the nature of the audio generated in response to the striking impacts may be selected by the user.

16. A sparring unit as recited in claim 15, wherein the nature of the audio is associated with a “

personality”

for the virtual opponent.

17. A sparring unit as recited in claim 16, wherein the language spoken, the types of phrasing used, and the attitude, and situation of an opponent may be simulated.

18. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, wherein the impacts registered by the impact sensor may be scaled, linearly or non-linearly, according to the mode of the sparring unit prior to being summed

19. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, further comprising an impact registration control that adjusts the relationship between the amount of impact and the amount of verbal output.

(For example, small inexperienced users hit less hard than larger more experienced individuals).

20. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, wherein the audio output is responsive to the setting of the impact control to match the skill level of the individual to the sounds being generated.

21. A sparring unit as recited in claim 20, wherein setting the impact control to a low setting for a small person or one of limited skill, results in the generation of humanlike sounds from a small person or one of otherwise limited ability.

22. A sparring unit as recited in claim 21, wherein said humanlike sounds from a small person or one of limited ability comprise sounds having a higher pitch.

23. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, further comprising a match end, Technical KnockOut (TKO) control that establishes an end of match condition based on the amount of damage accumulated during the session.

24. A sparring unit as recited in claim 23, further comprising damage recovery occuring at a predetermined or selectable rate, wherein higher strike frequency is encouraged to quickly bring a match to a conclusion.

25. A sparring unit as recited in claim 23, further comprising audio circuits for generating an output representing the final sounds of the match in response to reaching the TKO threshold indicator.

26. A sparring unit as recited in claim 25, wherein said final sounds may be selected from the set of audio representations consisting of gasps, groans, sound of a body falling to the ground, match bell sounding, sounds of a referee or other party.

27. A sparring unit as recited in claim 23, further comprising after match commentary which may include statistics about the “

match”

output in audio form.

28. A sparring unit as recited in claim 23, wherein said statistics may include user name, opponent information, fight duration, total impact power, maximum impact power, number of hits.

29. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, wherein the sparring unit has controls comprising a volume control, impact registration control, and final (TKO) threshold.

30. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, wherein the type of striking device to which the sparring unit is attached is selectable by the user for the type of bag being used.

31. A sparring unit as recited in claim 30, wherein the type of striking device may be selected from types consisting of small bags, large bags, 40# bags, 60# bags, 80# bags, foam torsos.

32. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, wherein the type of striking being performed by said user may be selected by said user to determine the types of sounds and method of registering the hits.

33. A sparring unit as recited in claim 32, wherein the type of striking, impacts, include boxing, karate, kicking, and kickboxing.

34. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10:

further comprising a situation control that may be set in response to user input to indicate how the strikes are to be registered and the audio to be output;

wherein the programming associated with said programmable element generates audio responses based on the setting of the situation control for given impact values and accumulated damage.

35. A sparring unit as recited in claim 34, wherein the situations may be selected from pugilist situations consisting of mortal combat, street fighting, brawl, prize fight, training fight, sparring match, training, statistics only, and TKO only.

36. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, further comprising an audio strike augmentation control which selects the type and amount of sound to be generated for a given strike impact force and amount of accumulated damage.

37. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10:

wherein the characteristics of the opponent may be selected by said user; and

wherein said programming associated with said programmable element selects the type of sounds being generated based on said selected characteristics.

38. A sparring unit as recited in claim 37, wherein said characteristics may comprise level of aggression, national origin, language, diction, and extent of usage of street language.

39. A sparring unit as recited in claim 38, wherein specific characters may be selected that have predetermined characteristics which have certain levels of the above.

40. A sparring unit as recited in claim 39, wherein said specific characters include fictional or actual persons such as Rambo, Darth Vader, and fun characters such as Mickey mouse, Barney, Tella Tubby, Goofy, and so forth.

41. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10:

wherein said sparring unit includes user input controls for selecting aspects of the audio output;

wherein said controls are configured with detents or other mechanisms to allow for readily duplicating the settings from one use to the next.

42. A sparring unit as recited in claim 41, wherein the settings for a given user are stored from one use to the next.

43. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, further comprising a microphone operable connected to said computational element for inputting audio for interpretation and storage within said sparring unit.

44. A sparring unit as recited in claim 43, wherein said audio comprises user recorded sounds and/or comments recorded during the match.

45. A sparring unit as recited in claim 44, wherein said audio is registered by said computer element which is adapted for generating simulated responses from the sparring opponent.

46. A sparring unit as recited in claim 43, wherein said audio is registered by said computer element which is adapted for voice control of match parameters. (i.e. “

Get tougher”

, “

Take it easy”

, “

Sound off”

, “

Pipe down”

)

47. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, wherein said sparring unit housing is adapted for attachment to any form of striking bag.

48. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, wherein said sparring unit is powered by a battery or similar portable power source.

49. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, further comprising a transmitter for remotely communicating audio information for playback to said user.

50. A sparring unit as recited in claim 10, further comprising a communication link for communicating setup and historical information.

51. A sparring unit as recited in claim 50, wherein said communication link comprises a network connection for uploading match information, and to load new sets of control parameters and personalities.

52. An apparatus for audible output to a user of swing metrics to enhance the speed with which a swing yielding the desired results may be attained and retained by a user, comprising:

a housing adapted for attachment to a user performing a swing or to a piece of equipment that said user is swinging;

an acceleration sensing means within said housing which is adapted to register swing accelerations spanning at least two axis of acceleration;

a computer circuit receiving inputs from said acceleration sensing means, and adapted with executable programming for converting accelerations along each axis to a uniquely identifiable audio signal for that axis whose characteristics are responsive to the magnitude of said accelerations; and

an audio output means configured to receive the identifiable audio signals from said computer circuit and to convert these audio signals into acoustic energy directed at said user.

53. An apparatus for the strength training of users against a controlled resistive force, comprising:

input receiving member adapted for movement in response to the receipt of force as applied by a user;

means for converting the motion of said input receiving member to a rotational movement;

a multi-cylinder non-combustion piston engine, having,

a housing adapted with multiple piston cylinders;

pistons adapted to slidably engage within said multiple piston cylinders;

a crankshaft mounted on an axis within said housing and adapted to rotate therein,

connecting rods connecting each piston to an off-axis location on said crankshaft wherein crankshaft rotation results in movement along an axis coupled to said piston; and

means of regulating fluid flow to each of said pistons;

wherein force applied to said input receiving member is converted to a rotational motion of said multi-cylinder engine as said crankshaft sequentially drives said pistons within said cylinders;

wherein the revolutions per minute of said engine is responsive to the force being input by the user and the adjustment of said fluid flow regulating means.

(the term cable is used herein, however, it will be appreciated that cords, belts, chains, and other forms of flexible tension coupling members may be utilized)

54. An apparatus as recited in claim 53, wherein said input receiving member is coupled by a cable, or equivalent, to said means for converting motion.

55. An apparatus as recited in claim 53, wherein said means for converting the motion of said input receiving member to a rotational movement comprises a cable spool;

wherein said cable spool has multiple spindles from which cables simultaneously wind and unwind on the different spindles in response to the movement of said input receiving member;

further comprising a transmission unit adapted to alter the ratio of rotation of said crankshaft to the movement of said input receiving member;

wherein said transmission is adapted for adjustment by said user to different ratios of input movement to crankshaft rotation;

wherein said means of regulating fluid flow comprises at least one fluid flow valve mechanism;

wherein a fluid flow valve is coupled to said piston cylinders to controllably restrict the flow of fluid control through said valve.

56. A weight training machine having a brake to stop free weight release as described herein.

57. A pulley device for use in a weight training device as described herein.

58. A method of limited the unrestricted free fall of weight on a weight training machine as described herein.

59. An apparatus for autonomously collecting golf balls on a driving range, comprising:

robotic device having,

a drive mechanism,

a steering mechanism,

means for collecting or directing golf balls,

(optional) means of detecting ball position,

collection area or receptacle; and

means for directing the general movement of the robotic device, to collect or direct the balls to said collection area or receptacle.

60. An apparatus as recited in claim 59, further comprising:

an automated “

garage”

into which the robot is received when not in use;

an automated collection station, which moves the balls collected to a dispensing station for cleaning and storage in preparation for being dispensed.

61. An apparatus for autonomously collecting golf balls on a driving range, comprising:

a motorized ball collection robot;

means for detecting location on said driving range of said robot to direct the collection of balls therein;

means of locating golf balls along said driving range of said robot;

means for collecting individual golf balls within said robot; and

a receptacle adapted for receiving balls from said robot.