System and method for measuring the linear and rotational acceleration of a body part
First Claim
1. An apparatus for measuring the acceleration of a body part, the apparatus comprising:
- a non-orthogonal arrangement of sensing devices that detect acceleration of the body part; and
, a processing device operably connected to the sensing devices and configured to calculate the magnitude and direction of an impact to the body part.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for determining the magnitude of linear and rotational acceleration of and direction of impact to a body part, such as a head includes positioning a number of single-axis accelerometers proximate to the outer surface of the body part. A number of accelerometers are oriented to sense respective linear acceleration orthogonal to the outer surface of the body part. The acceleration data sensed is collected and recorded. A hit profile function is determined from the configuration of the body part and the positioning of the plurality of accelerometers thereabout. A number of potential hit results are generated from the hit profile function and then compared to the acceleration data sensed by the accelerometers. One of the potential hit results is best fit matched to the acceleration data to determine a best fit hit result, which yields the magnitude of linear acceleration to and direction of an impact to the body part. The rotational acceleration of the body part can also be estimated from the magnitude of linear acceleration of and direction of the impact to the body part.
130 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for measuring the acceleration of a body part, the apparatus comprising:
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a non-orthogonal arrangement of sensing devices that detect acceleration of the body part; and
,a processing device operably connected to the sensing devices and configured to calculate the magnitude and direction of an impact to the body part. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A sports helmet comprising:
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a shell with a padding assembly;
an arrangement of non-orthogonally positioned sensing devices removably secured within the padding structures, wherein the sensing devices detect acceleration upon an impact to the helmet; and
,a control unit positioned within the shell and operably connected to the sensing devices, the control unit having a transmitter to transmit data received from the accelerometers to a remote processing device. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A real-time acceleration measuring and monitoring system for use with a plurality of helmets wherein each helmet is worn by a player engaged in a sporting activity, the system comprising:
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a plurality of sensing and control units, wherein each unit is removably positioned within a single helmet, each sensing and control unit having an arrangement of accelerometers to detect acceleration data upon an impact to the helmet, each sensing and control unit further having a transmitter to transmit data received from the accelerometers; and
,a remote unit operably connected to the plurality of sensing and control units, the remote unit having a receiver configured to receive the data transmitted from the plurality of transmitters, the remote unit further having a processor to determine the magnitude of each impact to the helmets. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification