Swing position recognition and reinforcement

• US 20050272517A1
• Filed: 08/04/2005
• Published: 12/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Recognition Insight LLC
• Original Assignee: Recognition Insight LLC
• Inventors: Funk, John Marlin, Funk, Conley Jack
• Application Number:
  US11/198,570
• Publication Number:
  US 20050272517A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/222
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 15/00 Clubs for gymnastics or the like , e.g. for swinging exercises
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/806 Video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/807 Photo cameras
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0003 Analysing the course of a movement or motion sequences during an exercise or trainings sequence, e.g. swing for golf or tennis
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/3632 Clubs or attachments on clubs, e.g. for measuring, aligning A63B69/3614 takes precedence; clubs for swinging exercises in general A63B15/00

Abstract

A method and device is used to teach and simulate swing mechanics. A camera is coupled to a computer such that frames including an image of a golfer swinging a golf club may be captured. A key part of the image is identified by the computer in sequential frames captured from the camera, and the image is compared to swing mechanics of a known standard golfer. The position of the known standard golfer is capable of following the natural swing of a student golfer, and the method and device are capable of providing real-time feedback to the student golfer during the golfer'"'"'s swing. An instant replay may be used to reinforce good swing mechanics. A marker attachment may be used to assist in tracking and analyzing the swing mechanics of the images. Parameters relating to club angle and apparent club length may be compared to a known standard for a plurality of reference swing positions in order to determine the swing mechanics of the student golfer during practice instruction and within a golf simulation game to determine ball trajectory. A ball launch monitor may be integrated with the image analysis, which improves the effectiveness of the method and device synergistically.

Claims

1. A device for a golfer to practice golf swing mechanics with a golf club, the device comprising:

a computer; and

a camera coupled to the computer such that the computer is capable of capturing video frames from the camera of an image of the golfer and at least a portion of the club, such that when the golfer swings the club at the golfer'"'"'s own pace, the computer matches at least one key part of the image to a known standard, the computer determines a club position from the at least one key part of the image, and the computer provides feedback to the golfer based on a divergence of the position of the club of the golfer from the position of the club of the known standard.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the camera is positioned face on to the golfer, and the computer measures a parameter related to a length of the club and compares the measured parameter related to the length to a known standard length for at least one position of the club.

3. The device of claim 2, further comprising a marker attachment having a spacer member with a first marker at one end of the spacer member and a second marker at an opposite end of the spacer member, wherein the computer determines the length of the marker attachment by determining the distance between the first marker and the second marker.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the distance is measured in pixels.

5. The device of claim 3, wherein the computer compares the length of the marker attachment to the known standard length for a plurality of club positions.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the plurality of club positions is at least thirty club positions per second.

7. The device of claim 5, wherein the plurality of club positions is at least sixty club positions per second.

8. The device of claim 3, wherein the marker attachment has a plurality of markers and at least one of the markers comprises an orb, and the orb has at least two colors such that the computer is capable of determining rotation of the marker attachment from the changing fraction of the at least two colors that are visible in the image.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the rotation of the marker attachment is used to determine divergence from a known standard.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the divergence is used to calculate the effect on a trajectory of a ball in a golf simulator.

11. The device of claim 10, further comprising a ball launch monitor, wherein the launch monitor is capable of determining the speed and direction of a ball after impact with a head of the club, and the computer determines the trajectory of ball in a golf simulator based on the speed and direction of the ball and the rotation of the shaft of the club.

12. The device of claim 10, wherein the computer is capable of providing an instant replay that instructs the golfer how to correct improper golf swing mechanics to improve the trajectory of the golf ball.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the camera is positioned downline of the golfer, and the computer measures a parameter related to an angle of a shaft of the club and compares the measured parameter related to the angle to a known standard angle for at least one position of the club.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the at least one key part includes the point where a grip of the club intersects the shaft of the club.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the point where the grip intersects the shaft is marked by a first marker.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the first marker is attached at one end of a spacer member having a second marker attached at an opposite end.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the marker attachment has a plurality of markers and at least one of the markers comprises an orb, and the orb has at least two colors such that the computer is capable of determining rotation of the shaft from the changing fraction of the at least two colors that are visible in the image during rotation of the shaft of the club.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the rotation of the shaft is used to determine divergence from rotation of a known standard for rotation of the shaft of the club.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein the divergence is used to calculate the effect on a trajectory of the ball in a golf simulator.

20. The device of claim 14, wherein a rotation of the shaft of the club is determined from the image of a head of the club.

21. The device of claim 20, further comprising a ball launch monitor, wherein the launch monitor is capable of determining the speed and direction of the ball after impact with a head of the club, and the computer determines the trajectory of the ball in a golf simulator based on the speed and direction of the ball and the rotation of the shaft of the club.

40. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of comparing the position of the golf swing to a reference position of a known standard swing includes comparing at least two of the measurements made in the step of tracking the position to at least two related values measured from the known standard swing at the reference position associated with the actual position of the first marker of the golfer.

22. An interactive method of tracking and analyzing golf swing mechanics of a golfer using a golf club, the method comprising:

viewing the golfer with a video camera;

coupling the video camera to a computer such that the computer is capable of capturing images from the video camera;

determining a key part from the images;

tracking the position of the golf club during a swing using the key part;

comparing the position of the golf swing to a reference position of a known standard swing;

providing feedback to the golfer such that the golfer is capable of improving the swing mechanics.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of providing feedback includes providing visual feedback or audible feedback or both visual feedback and audible feedback.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the visual feedback includes:

superimposing a pattern of a golfer having a known standard golf swing mechanics over the image of the golfer on a display screen based on the key position identified by the computer from the image.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the audible feedback is capable of instructing the golfer about at least one improper aspect of swing mechanics in real time during a swing by the golfer.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the audible feedback is capable of informing the golfer of a flat back swing based on image analysis of the image by the computer.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of superimposing includes:

advancing the image from one frame to the next in real time and superimposing the pattern of the golfer having a known standard golf swing mechanics to each of a plurality of sequential images of the golfer in each frame based on the key position identified by the computer from the image.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

attaching a marker attachment on a shaft of the club of the golfer.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

exhibiting a surface of the marker attachment having a color pattern thereon;

analyzing the color pattern;

comparing the color pattern of the marker of the golfer to the color pattern of a known standard golfer;

determining divergence from the color pattern of the known standard golfer; and

providing the golfer feedback concerning the divergence.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the feedback is audible.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the feedback is capable of informing the golfer of a slice or a hook.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the feedback is a golf simulator capable of showing the trajectory of the golf ball of the golfer compared to the trajectory of the golf ball of the known standard golfer.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the feedback includes an explanation of the defect in golf mechanics of the golfer and providing drills to practice correcting of the defect in golf mechanics.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the feedback includes repeating the shot and showing a comparison of the original trajectory, the repeated trajectory and the known standard trajectory.

35. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of determining a key part from the images includes determining the coordinates of a first marker attached to a shaft of the club at the intersection of a grip and a shaft of the club.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of tracking the position of the golf club includes determining the position of at least one additional marker spaced at known distance from the first marker, determining a linear fit from the first marker through the at least one additional marker, wherein an angle from a fixed direction from the first marker to the line of the linear fit is capable of being determined.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the step of tracking the position of the golf club further comprises counting the number of pixels from the first marker to the at least one additional marker.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the step of tracking the position of the golf club further comprises counting the number of pixels from a center of mass of the body to the position of the first marker.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the step of comparing the position of the golf swing to a reference position of a known standard swing includes comparing at least one of the measurements made in the step of tracking the position to at least one related value measured from the known standard swing at the reference position associated with the actual position of the first marker of the golfer, the at least one of the measurements made in the step of tracking the position being selected from the group of measurements consisting of the number of pixels from a center of mass of the body to the position of the first marker, the number of pixels from the first marker to the at least one additional marker, the coordinates of the position of the center of mass of the golfer'"'"'s head, and the angle from a fixed direction from the first marker to the line of the linear fit.

41. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of viewing the golfer views the golfer from a plurality of cameras positioned for different views of the golfer.

42. The method of claim 22, further comprising a step of analyzing the brightness and gray properties of known color patterns of a marker attachment and reporting light conditions to the golfer.

43. The method of claim 22, further comprising a step of disposing the camera a proper distance from the golfer during setup by comparing the height of the golfer to the height of a known standard golfer.

44. The method of claim 22, further comprising using a marker attachment as a pointing device to control the computer.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the step of using a marker attachment includes the step of mirroring the image of the golfer on the display.

46. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

selecting a type of golf club;

taking a practice swing with the type of golf club;

viewing the practice swing in real-time during the practice swing;

replaying the practice swing; and

analyzing the practice swing step-by-step audibly commenting on the swing mechanics during each step having comments associated with the step.

47. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

predicting the trajectory of a ball; and

determining from the trajectory the lie of the ball in a simulated golf environment.

48. The method of claim 47, further comprising:

using a launch monitor to determine ball speed and initial direction of the ball when using a putter for long putts, a wedge, an iron, a wood or a driver;

attaching a marker having plurality of colors or patterns on the club;

predicting the effect of ball rotation imparted by rotational position of the club at impact on the trajectory of the ball from image analysis of the marker having a plurality of colors using an image analyzer; and

using the image analyzer to determine the ball speed and initial direction of the ball when using a putter for a short putt, when the image analyzer is capable of improving the accuracy of the simulation of the short putt.

49. The method of claim 48, further comprising a step of including a plurality of players in the golf simulation.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the plurality of players are disposed in different locations and are playing over an electronic network.

51. A simulation system for a player comprising:

a device for practicing swing mechanics, the device comprising a computer, and a camera coupled to the computer such that the computer is capable of capturing video frames from the camera of a marker device on a shaft;

the marker device having a plurality of orbs, each having an anti-reflective surface, the plurality of orbs including;

a first orb;

a second orb disposed at a distance from the first orb;

a first bi-colored orb of a first color and a second color; and

a second bi-colored orb of a second color and a first color;

wherein the first bi-colored orb has the first color on a left half and the second color on a right half and the second bi-colored orb has the first color on a right half and the second color on a left half such that the color of the second bi-colored orb is a mirror image of the color of the first bi-colored orb, such that, when the player swings the shaft at the player'"'"'s own pace, the system identifies swing mechanics information, including;

determining the coordinates of the first orb in relation to a center of mass of at least a portion of the player;

fitting a linear fit from the first orb through the second orb, providing an angle of the shaft to a reference direction;

measuring the apparent distance between the first orb and the second orb; and

measuring a rotation of the shaft based on a count of the number of pixels of the second color and the third color for each of the first bi-colored orb and the second bi-colored orb; and

the system compares the swing mechanics information to a known standard; and

provides real-time visual and audible feedback to the player.

52. The system of claim 51, wherein the first orb, the second orb and the third orb have a third color, and the third color is of a different color than the second color and the third color of the first bi-colored orb and the second bi-colored orb.

53. A marker attachment comprising a plurality of orbs, each of the plurality of orbs having an anti-reflective surface, the plurality of orbs including:

a first orb having a uniform surface color;

a second orb of the same color as the first orb disposed at a distance from the first orb;

a third orb of the same color as the first orb disposed between the first orb and the second orb;

a first bi-colored orb of a second color and a third color; and

a second bi-colored orb of a second color and a third color;

wherein the first bi-colored orb has the second color on a left half and the third color on a right half and the second bi-colored orb has the second color on a right half and the third color on a left half such that the color of the second bi-colored orb is a mirror image of the color of the first bi-colored orb;