Electronic Pitching Trainer and Method for Determining the True Speed of a Sports Projectile
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- sensing means disposed to generate, in response to a sound generated by impact of a sports projectile upon any one of first and second target areas of a sports target device, a signal encoding a quality of the sound; and
processing means to determine, based on the signal, which of the two target areas has been impacted by the sports projectile.
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Abstract
A sensing device obtains range-related data—such as Doppler data or pulse time-of-flight data—from a sports projectile during flight. The time course of the range-related data is employed, in light of predictable characteristics of the projectile trajectory, to determine and output an accurate determination of the projectile speed for one or more points of interest in its flight. Such determination of speed may, for instance, be the speed at the time of projectile release, even though range-related data is gathered later in the flight, when the projectile is traveling neither so fast, nor straight at the sensor. Such sensing device may employ inexpensive short-range acoustic Doppler, and be incorporated into a target device that automatically displays to a pitcher-in-training the speed and ball/strike condition of each pitch.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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sensing means disposed to generate, in response to a sound generated by impact of a sports projectile upon any one of first and second target areas of a sports target device, a signal encoding a quality of the sound; and processing means to determine, based on the signal, which of the two target areas has been impacted by the sports projectile. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An automated method comprising:
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(A) generate, in response to a sound generated by impact of a sports projectile upon any one of first and second target areas of a sports target device, a signal encoding a quality of the sound; and (B) determining, based on the signal, which of the two target areas has been impacted by the sports projectile. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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Specification