BASKETBALL SHOT-TRACKING SYSTEM

• US 20150258416A1
• Filed: 05/27/2015
• Published: 09/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DD Sports, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Shottracker, Inc.
• Inventors: Ianni, Bruce C., Ross, Davyeon D., Kahler, Clint A., Danknick, Daniel A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,186,568 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2208/02 posture
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2208/0204 Standing on the feet
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/17 Counting, e.g. counting periodical movements, revolutions or cycles, or including further data processing to determine distances or speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/833 Sensors arranged on the exercise apparatus or sports implement
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/836 Sensors arranged on the body of the user
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0062 Monitoring athletic performances, e.g. for determining the work of a user on an exercise apparatus, the completed jogging or cycling distance
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/0071 for basketball
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/0669 Score-keepers or score display devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2218/00 Aspects of pattern recognition specially adapted for signal processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/23 Recognition of whole body movements, e.g. for sport training
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/0038 Sports
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/725 Cordless telephones user interfaces specially adapted therefor H04M1/724

Abstract

A basketball shot-tracking system comprising a wrist tracker, a net tracker, and a shot-tracking mobile application. The wrist tracker is worn on the wrist or arm of a basketball player and the net tracker is attached to the net of the basketball hoop. The wrist tracker and net tracker automatically detect shot-attempt and made-shot events, respectively, and asynchronously transmit messages to the shot-tracking mobile application reporting these events. The shot-tracking mobile application, which runs on a mobile device, such as a smart phone or tablet computer, includes program instructions that, when executed by the CPU of the wireless mobile device, causes the wireless mobile device to automatically receive and process the asynchronous event data sent by the wrist tracker and net tracker, and to automatically tabulate, store and/or display the basketball player'"'"'s shooting statistics (such as total shots taken, total shots made, shooting percentage, shot locations, and the like).

Claims

1. A wireless net tracker device comprising;

a microprocessor;

a memory storage area for storing one or more made shot profiles, each made shot profile representing typical perturbations of the net when a shot is made;

one or more sensors that detect actual perturbations of the net when a basketball passes through the net;

a radio transmitter; and

a made shot detection program in the memory storage area, the made shot detection program having program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, cause the microprocessor to analyze data generated by the one or more sensors and to determine whether a qualified match exists between the actual perturbations of the net and the typical perturbations of the net when a shot is made as represented by at least one of said made shot profiles;

wherein, when the made shot detection program determines that the qualified match exists, the program instructions are further configured to cause the microprocessor to transmit a message to a personal computer system via the radio transmitter, the message indicating that a made shot event has occurred.

2. The wireless net tracker of claim 1, wherein the memory storage area stores one or more rim bounce profiles which represent typical perturbations of the net when a shot hits the basketball hoop'"'"'s rim or backboard and does not pass through the net.

3. The wireless net tracker of claim 2, wherein the made shot module further comprises program instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, cause the microprocessor to detect missed shots that hit and bounce off of the basketball hoop'"'"'s rim or backboard by comparing the actual perturbations of the net with the typical perturbations of the net represented by the one or more rim bounce profiles.