BALL, IN PARTICULAR A GOLF BALL, AND AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE BALL

• US 20160296796A1
• Filed: 11/20/2014
• Published: 10/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alex Raimondi, Daniel Rauch, Thomas Sandel
• Original Assignee: Alex Raimondi, Daniel Rauch, Thomas Sandel
• Inventors: Sandel, Thomas, Raimondi, Alex, Rauch, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 10,213,646 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0053 for locating an object, e.g. a lost ball
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/12 Absolute positions, e.g. by using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/20 Distances or displacements
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/50 Wireless data transmission, e.g. by radio transmitters or telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0021 Tracking a path or terminating locations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0003 Golf balls
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0074 Two piece balls, i.e. cover and core
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0075 Three piece balls, i.e. cover, intermediate layer and core
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0076 Multi-piece balls, i.e. having two or more intermediate layers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/09 providing processing capability normally carried out by the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/19 Sporting applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/36 relating to the receiver frond end
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0018 Transmission from mobile station to base station

Abstract

A golf ball (10) with an outer casing (11) has an electronic device (20) housed in a plastic core (12, 13), comprising at least one receiver (21), a microelectronic device (22) for evaluating and forwarding the received signals and a transmitter and/or receiver (23). The transmitter or receiver (23) can communicate with a separate electronic device worn by the user (30). The invention will enable a player to easily find and locate a ball that is not lying on the fairway that cannot be spotted or found with the naked eye.

Claims

1. A ball, in particular a golf ball, with an outer casing (11, 41) and a one- or multi-part plastic core (12, 13, 43), characterised in that there is integrated into the plastic core (12, 13, 43) an electronic device (20) which comprises at least one receiver (21), preferably a GPS receiver, microelectronics (22) for evaluating and forwarding the received signals and a transmitter and/or receiver (23) which can communicate with a separate electronic device (30) carried by a user, and so this makes it possible to locate the position of the ball (10, 40).

2. The ball according to claim 1, characterised in that an energy source (25), at least in the form of a primary cell and which supplies power to the electronic device (20) integrated into the ball, is additionally integrated.

3. The ball according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device (20) is provided with a chip with integrated microelectronics (22), a processor and interfaces and which could be programmed by a simple software program.

4. The ball according to claim 1, wherein the receiver (21) and the transmitter and/or receiver (23), in particular one or more antennas (23′

), are integrated into the plastic core (13) of the ball (10) such that signal reception and signal transmission is reliably guaranteed.

5. The ball according to claim 4, characterised in that the signal transmission from the transmitter and/or receiver (23) within the ball (10) to the external device takes place wirelessly via a radio connection, preferably Bluetooth, a proprietary radio or similar.

6. The ball according to claim 3, characterised in that the electronic device (20) is provided with an integrated circuit by means of which the electronic device (20) can be switched on and off automatically and/or by a radio signal from the electronic device (30) in order to minimise energy consumption.

7. The ball according to claim 2, wherein a re-chargeable battery or an accumulator, also integrated into the ball (10), can be used as the energy source (25).

8. The ball according to claim 7, characterised in that the battery or the accumulator can be re-charged by contact-free power transmission.

9. The ball according to claim 1, wherein an identification that can be recognised recognized by the electronic device (30) is assigned to the ball (10) so that the device picks up the ball which belongs to the user.

10. The ball according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device (20) with the microelectronics (22), the receiver (21) and the transmitter (23) is embedded in the plastic core of the ball (10) so that it functions over the normal life span of a ball.

11. The ball according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device (20) with the microelectronics (22), the receiver (21) and the transmitter and/or receiver (23) is embedded in the center of the plastic core of the ball so that the center of gravity of the ball is at its center point.

12. An electronic device for communication with a ball according to claim 1, wherein a receiver for receiving the signals transmitted by the ball (10), a microprocessor for evaluating the received signals and a visual and/or acoustic display (31) of the location of the ball are provided so that the ball can be located.

13. The electronic device according to claim 12, characterised in that a smartphone with an integrated navigation system, in particular GPS, and with a radio device, for example Bluetooth or W-LAN, can be used which by means of the signals relating to its location transmitted by the ball (10) can recognise, evaluate and display the effective location of the ball on its display (31).

14. The electronic device according to claim 13, characterised in that the smartphone with an integrated navigation system can contain a retrievable software program, in particular an APP, that is programmed such that it makes it possible to retrieve the various information, at least relating to the determined locations of the ball (10), and the user can therefore track and analyse the locations and flight distances of the ball.

15. The electronic device according to claim 12, wherein it contains a software program for golf, in particular an APP, with which individual stretches of a golf course can be shown on the display and so distances, for example the distance from the green and/or from an obstacle or similar, can be displayed as well as the location of the ball.

16. The electronic device according to claim 12, characterised in that the ball (10) can be located by direction finding, preferably by means of a proprietary radio module.

17. The electronic device according to claim 15, characterised in that an additional device with a direction-finding transmitter/receiver is provided with the smartphone, which additional device is designed as a component part of the smartphone case.

18. The ball according to claim 2, wherein the electronic device is provided with a chip with integrated microelectronics, a processor and interfaces.

19. The ball according to claim 2, wherein the receiver and the transmitter and/or receiver are integrated into the plastic core of the ball such that signal reception and signal transmission is reliably guaranteed.

20. The ball according to claim 3, wherein a re-chargeable battery or an accumulator, also integrated into the ball, can be used as the energy source.