Electronically controlled golf swing analyzing/training mat system with ball striking-related feedback

• US 20070298896A1
• Filed: 10/18/2006
• Published: 12/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mark E. Nusbaum
• Original Assignee: Mark E. Nusbaum
• Inventors: Nusbaum, Mark E., Rhoads, Jan E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,959,521 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/131
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0012 Comparing movements or motion sequences with a registered reference
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0647 Visualisation of executed movements
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0694 Visual indication, e.g. Indicia
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2102/32 Golf
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/35 Spin
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/56 Pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/80 Special sensors, transducers or devices therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/805 Optical or opto-electronic sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/50 Wireless data transmission, e.g. by radio transmitters or telemetry
• 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 69/3605 Golf club selection aids informing player of his average or expected shot distance for each club
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/3614 using electro-magnetic, magnetic or ultrasonic radiation emitted, reflected or interrupted by the golf club
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/362 electrical or electronic
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/3661 Mats for golf practice, e.g. mats having a simulated turf, a practice tee or a green area
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/3667 Golf stance aids, e.g. means for positioning a golfer's feet
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/06 Indicating or scoring devices for games or players , or for other sports activities

Abstract

A golf practice mat includes an impact sensor disposed in a vicinity bounding the location of where a golf ball would be placed for striking. The golf practice mat may also include, for example, a “crosshair” target imprint that is disposed on a golf club impact sensor portion of the practice surface and indicates the point/line of contact that the club face should hit the ground after the ball has been struck with the club head in a descending blow. A microcontroller receives and analyzes the output of the impact sensor and generates a display/output message that is coupled to a display that is, for example, embodied on the golf practice mat to provide user shot-related feedback. The display may indicate, for example, the user'"'"'s golf club, the estimated distance the ball will travel depending upon the impact data analyzed, the club chosen by the user, input backswing data and/or a three-dimensional simulation of the resulting golf stroke.

Claims

1. Golf practice apparatus for use by a user practicing a golf swing with a golf club comprising:

a bounded practice surface for use by a user practicing a golf swing;

an area of said practice surface indicating the position of a golf ball;

an impact sensor disposed in a golf club impact area of said practice surface for detecting contact with said impact area by a golf club swung by said user and for generating golf club contact data;

processing circuitry operatively coupled to said impact sensor for receiving and analyzing said golf club contact data; and

an output mechanism for providing feedback to said user related to the analysis of said golf club contact data by said processing circuitry.

2. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said practice surface includes a target indicator disposed adjacent to said area of said practice surface indicating the position of a golf ball.

3. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said target indicator is disposed at a point on the practice surface corresponding to a point in a golf swing after ball contact would have been made if an actual golf had been placed at the indicated position of a golf ball.

4. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said area of said practice surface indicating the position of a golf ball includes a golf ball representation in the form of a circular golf ball representing imprint.

5. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said golf ball representation is a golf ball sized hollow spherical structure fastened to said practice surface.

6. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said target indicator is disposed at a point on the practice surface corresponding to a point in a golf swing where a divot would have been made if an actual golf had been placed at the golf ball representation and a downward stroke was executed on a golf course fairway.

7. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said output mechanism is a display.

8. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said impact sensor generates data indicative of the points of contact of a golf club with said golf club impact area of said impact sensor.

9. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said practice surface includes a target disposed adjacent to the indication of the position of a golf ball and wherein said processing circuitry analyzes said impact sensor data with respect to the location of said target.

10. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said impact sensor comprises a grid of sensors.

11. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said impact sensor comprises an array of pressure sensors.

12. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processing circuitry in response to said golf club contact data generates a golf club stroke yardage indicating signal.

13. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processing circuitry in response to said golf club contact data generates data indicative of a detected pattern related to a user'"'"'s golf swing.

14. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, further including a desired practice golf stroke input mechanism.

15. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 14, wherein a user inputs a backswing of a predetermined angular rotation.

16. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, further including three-dimensional display generation circuitry for generating data for displaying a simulated golf shot based upon said golf club contact data.

17. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, further including display generating circuitry for displaying a golf stroke instructional sequence.

18. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said output mechanism is at least one speaker coupled to said processing circuitry for providing golf stroke related audio to a user.

19. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, further including a mode input mechanism to define the club and stroke to be used.

20. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, further including further processing circuitry located outside the bounded practice surface and operatively coupled via a communications medium to said processing circuitry that receives and analyzes said golf club contact data.

21. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said further processing circuitry generates an options menu and communicates a selected option to said processing circuitry that receives and analyzes said golf club contact data.

22. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said further processing circuitry generates a three-dimensional golf stroke related display.

23. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, further including a putting surface including a cup, said processing circuitry being operative to detect a made putt and to generate a putt-related display.

24. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said output mechanism is a television display.

25. Golf practice apparatus for use by a user practicing a golf swing with a golf club comprising:

a bounded practice surface for use by a user practicing a golf swing;

an impact sensor disposed in a golf club impact area of said practice surface and having an associated target indication, said impact sensor for detecting contact with said surface by a golf club swung by said user in the area of said target indication and for generating golf club contact data; and

a processor operatively coupled to said impact sensor for receiving and analyzing said golf club contact data;

said processor generating a golf swing-related projection in response to said golf club contact data.

26. Golf apparatus according to claim 25, further including a display operatively coupled to said processor for providing feedback to said user resulting from the analysis of said golf club contact data by said processor.

27. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 25, wherein said practice surface includes a golf ball representation and wherein said target indication is disposed in relation to said golf ball representation to correspond to the point of contact on a fairway where a downward swing would strike the turf after striking the ball.

28. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 25, wherein said golf swing-related projection is a projection of a characteristic of the user'"'"'s swing based upon an analysis of a plurality of the user'"'"'s swings.

29. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 25, wherein said impact sensor generates data indicative of points of contact of a golf club on said impact sensor surface.

30. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 25, wherein said processor analyzes said impact sensor data with respect to the location of said target indicator.

31. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 25, further including three-dimensional display generation circuitry for generating data for displaying a simulated golf shot based upon said golf club contact data.

32. Golf practice apparatus according to claim 25, further including a memory for storing golf club contact data for a plurality of golf swings.

33. A method of practicing a golf stroke with a golf club and providing stroke-related feedback to a user using a practice mat, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting the contact between a golf club head and a horizontal surface on said practice mat and generating an electrical signal indicative thereof;

processing said electrical signal to generate data indicative of the result of an analysis of the golf club contact data; and

providing golf stroke-related feedback to said user.

34. A method according to claim 33, further including the steps of including a target indicator disposed adjacent to a golf ball representation on said practice mat and analyzing club head impact data with respect to the location of said target indicator.

35. A method according to claim 33, further including the step of generating a golf club stroke yardage indicating signal in response to the processing of club head contact data.

36. A method according to claim 33, further including the step of generating data for displaying a simulated golf shot based upon said golf club contact data.

37. A method according to claim 33, further including the step of generating a three-dimensional golf stroke related display.

38. A method according to claim 33, further including the step of providing a putting surface including a cup, detecting a made putt and generating a putt-related display.

39. A method according to claim 33, wherein the step of providing feedback includes the step of generating a display indicative of the projected result of said practice golf stroke.

40. A method according to claim 33, wherein said detecting step includes the step of generating at least a two dimensional array of data relating to the contact between the golf club head and an impact sensor.

41. A method according to claim 33, further including the step of determining the angular rotation of the club face over time.

42. A method according to claim 33, further including the step of projecting the direction that a ball would have been hit as a result of the practice golf stroke as a function of the detected impact data.

43. A method of practicing a golf stroke with a golf club and providing feedback to a user using a practice mat, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting the contact between a golf club head and a horizontal surface on said practice mat and generating an electrical signal indicative thereof;

processing said electrical signal;

storing said electrical signal for a plurality of golf strokes; and

providing feedback to a user relating to the user'"'"'s golf stroke based upon said electrical signal for a plurality of golf strokes.

44. A method according to claim 43, wherein the step of providing feedback includes the step of informing the user that ball contact is typically made with the club face open.

45. A method according to claim 43, wherein the step of providing feedback includes the step of informing the user that ball contact is typically made with the club face closed.

46. A method according to claim 43, wherein the step of providing feedback includes the step of informing the user that ball contact is typically made with the club face behind the ball.

47. A method according to claim 43, further including the step of generating a three-dimensional golf stroke related display.

48. A method of practicing a golf stroke and providing feedback to a user using a practice mat, said method comprising the steps of:

striking a golf ball disposed on said practice mat with a golf club;

detecting the contact between the golf club head and a horizontal surface on said practice mat and generating an electrical signal indicative thereof;

processing and analyzing said electrical signal indicative of club head contact by a processing device; and

providing feedback to the user relating to the user'"'"'s golf stroke based upon said club head contact.

49. A method according to claim 48, further including the steps of entering data indicative of actual results achieved from the striking step and calibrating said processing device in light of actual results obtained from the striking step.

50. A method of practicing a golf stroke with a particular golf club and providing stroke-related feedback to a user using a practice mat, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting the contact between the golf club head of said particular club and a horizontal surface on said practice mat and generating an electrical signal indicative thereof;

processing said electrical signal to generate shot-related data indicative of the result of said golf stroke; and

displaying data indicative of a projected distance of a practice shot as a function of a distance-related characteristic of said particular golf club.

51. A method according to claim 56, further including the step of entering data identifying the particular club.

52. A method of practicing a golf stroke with a particular golf club and providing stroke-related feedback to a user using a practice mat, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting the contact between the golf club head of said particular club and a horizontal surface on said practice mat in a first practice stroke and generating a first electrical signal indicative thereof;

processing said electrical signal to generate data indicative of a projected result of said first practice stroke;

detecting the contact between the golf club head of said particular club and a horizontal surface of said practice mat in at least a second practice stroke and generating a second electrical signal indicative thereof;

processing said second electrical signal to generate data indicative of the projected result of said second practice stroke;

analyzing said first electrical signal and said second electrical signals; and

displaying an indication of the analysis of said first practice stroke and said at least said second practice stroke.

53. A method according to claim 52, further including the step of determining whether said particular golf club is a proper fit for the using based upon the results of the analyzing step.

54. A method according to claim 52, further including the step of determining based upon the analyzing step a shot-related trend.

55. A method according to claim 52, further including the step of determining based upon the analyzing step that the user has a swing defect.