Apparatus and methods for determining loft time and speed
DCFirst Claim
1. Apparatus for determining loft time of a moving vehicle off ofa surface, the vehicle of the type which is ridden along the surface by a user of the vehicle, 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 being constructed and arranged so as to be substantially non-interfering with motion of the vehicle along the surface, wherein the loft sensor senses a spectrum of information and wherein the first and second conditions correspond to a change in the spectrum of information;
a microprocessor subsystem for determining a loft time that is based on the first and second conditions, wherein the microprocessor subsystem comprises means for interpreting the change in the spectrum to determine the loft time; and
display means for displaying the loft time to the user.
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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 is particularly well-suited to 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.
192 Citations
22 Claims
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1. Apparatus for determining loft time of a moving vehicle off of
a surface, the vehicle of the type which is ridden along the surface by a user of the vehicle, 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 being constructed and arranged so as to be substantially non-interfering with motion of the vehicle along the surface, wherein the loft sensor senses a spectrum of information and wherein the first and second conditions correspond to a change in the spectrum of information; a microprocessor subsystem for determining a loft time that is based on the first and second conditions, wherein the microprocessor subsystem comprises means for interpreting the change in the spectrum to determine the loft time; and display means for displaying the loft time to the user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. Apparatus for determining the loft time of a moving vehicle off of a surface, the vehicle of the type which is ridden along the surface by a user of the vehicle, 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 sensing a spectrum of information wherein the first and second conditions correspond to a change in the spectrum of information, the loft sensor being constructed and arranged so as to be substantially non-interfering with motion of the vehicle along the surface; a microprocessor subsystem for determining a loft time that is based upon the first and second conditions, and wherein the microprocessor subsystem comprises means for interpreting the change in the spectrum to determine the loft time; and display means for displaying the loft time to the user.
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22. A method for determining the loft time of a moving vehicle off of a surface, the vehicle of the type which is ridden along the surface by a user of the vehicle, comprising the steps of:
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detecting a spectrum of information, sensing the vehicle leaving the surface at a first time without interfering with motion of the vehicle along the surface by detecting a first change in the spectrum of information, sensing the vehicle returning to the surface at a second time without interfering with vehicle motion along the surface by detecting a second change in the spectrum of information, determining a loft time from the first and second times by interpreting the first and second changes in the spectrum, and displaying the loft time to the user.
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Specification