Apparatus and methods for determining loft time and speed
DCFirst Claim
1. Apparatus for determining the loft time of a moving vehicle off of a surface, comprising:
- a loft sensor for sensing a first condition that is indicative of the vehicle leaving the surface, and a second condition indicative of the vehicle returning to the surface, the loft sensor comprising one or more accelerometers for generating a vibrational spectrum of the vehicle, and wherein the first and second conditions correspond to a change in the vibrational spectrum;
a microprocessor subsystem for determining a loft time that is based upon the first and second conditions; and
display means for displaying the loft time to a user of the apparatus.
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Abstract
The invention detects the loft time and/or speed of a vehicle, such as a sporting vehicle, during activities of moving and jumping. A loft sensor detects when the vehicle leaves the ground and when the vehicle returns to the ground. A microprocessor subsystem converts the sensed information to determine a loft time. A display shows the recorded loft time to a user of the system. In addition, a speed sensor can detect the vehicle'"'"'s speed for selective display to the user. The invention can be used, for example, in sporting activities such as snowboarding where users loft into the air on ski jumps and catch "air" time but have no quantitative measure of the actual time lapse in the air. Therefore, users in skiing can use invention to record, store, and playback selected information relating to their sporting day, including the total amount of "air" time for the day and information such as dead time, i.e., time not spent on the slopes.
249 Citations
16 Claims
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1. Apparatus for determining the loft time of a moving vehicle off of a surface, comprising:
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a loft sensor for sensing a first condition that is indicative of the vehicle leaving the surface, and a second condition indicative of the vehicle returning to the surface, the loft sensor comprising one or more accelerometers for generating a vibrational spectrum of the vehicle, and wherein the first and second conditions correspond to a change in the vibrational spectrum; a microprocessor subsystem for determining a loft time that is based upon the first and second conditions; and display means for displaying the loft time to a user of the apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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2. Apparatus for determining the loft time of a moving vehicle off of a surface, comprising:
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a loft sensor for sensing a first condition that is indicative of the vehicle leaving the surface, and a second condition indicative of the vehicle returning to the surface, the loft sensor comprising a microphone subassembly for generating a noise spectrum of the vehicle, and wherein the first and second conditions correspond to a change in the noise spectrum; a microprocessor subsystem for determining a loft time that is based upon the first and second conditions; and display means for displaying the loft time to a user of the apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. Apparatus for determining the loft time of a moving vehicle off of a surface, comprising:
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a loft sensor for sensing a first condition that is indicative of the vehicle leaving the surface, and a second condition indicative of the vehicle returning to the surface, the loft sensor having a circuit that is responsive to a weight of a user of the vehicle, the circuit having a compressible material and a capacitance-changing element that changes in capacitance once the material is compressed; a microprocessor subsystem for determining a loft time that is based upon the first and second conditions, the microprocessor sub system having means for detecting changes in the capacitance and for determining the loft time based upon the changes in capacitance; and display means for displaying the loft time to a user of the apparatus.
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10. Apparatus for determining the loft time of a moving vehicle off of a surface, comprising:
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a loft sensor for sensing a first condition that is indicative of the vehicle leaving the surface, and a second condition indicative of the vehicle returning to the surface; a microprocessor subsystem for determining a loft time that is based upon the first and second conditions; a speed sensor comprising a plurality of accelerometers connected to the microprocessor sub system, each of the accelerometers sensing acceleration relative to a sensitive axis, the microprocessor sub system further comprising means for processing the plurality of acceleration signals to compensate for the forces of gravity and to determine a speed of the vehicle; and display means for displaying the loft time to a user of the apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. Apparatus for determining the loft time of a moving vehicle off of a surface, comprising:
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a loft sensor for sensing a first condition that is indicative of the vehicle leaving the surface, and a second condition indicative of the vehicle returning to the surface; a microprocessor subsystem for determining a loft time that is based upon the first and second conditions; a speed sensor having (i) a pressure-to-voltage sensor for generating a voltage corresponding to an atmospheric pressure at the apparatus, and (ii) an inclinometer for determining an angle of orientation of the apparatus relative to horizontal, and wherein the microprocessor sub system comprises means for converting the voltage and angle to a rate of descent to determine a speed of the vehicle; and display means for displaying the loft time to a user of the apparatus.
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14. Apparatus for determining the loft time of a moving vehicle off of a surface, comprising:
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a loft sensor for sensing a first condition that is indicative of the vehicle leaving the surface, and a second condition indicative of the vehicle returning to the surface; a microprocessor subsystem for determining a loft time that is based upon the first and second conditions; a speed sensor connected in circuit with the microprocessor sub system and having (i) a voltage-measuring circuit having a pair of conductors arranged to contact the surface so that the surface is part of the circuit, and (ii) an electromagnet for selectively generating a magnetic field on the circuit, wherein a voltage generated by the circuit is proportional to a speed of the vehicle; and display means for displaying the loft time to a user of the apparatus, the microprocessor sub system having means for converting the voltage to a speed for display on the display means.
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15. In a sporting vehicle of the type ridden by a user on a surface, the sporting vehicle being selected from the group of (i) snowboards, (ii) snow skis, (iii) water skis, (iv) skis for ski jumping, and (v) skis for ski flying, the improvement comprising:
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a speed sensor having (i) a voltage-measuring circuit including a pair of conductors arranged to contact the surface so that the surface is part of the circuit, and (ii) an electromagnet for selectively generating a magnetic field on the circuit, wherein a voltage generated by the circuit is proportional to a speed of the vehicle; a microprocessor subsystem for determining a speed of the vehicle that is based upon the voltage; display means for displaying the speed to a user of the apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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Specification