Apparatus and method for determining loft time and speed
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for determining loft time of a moving vehicle off of a surface, the moving 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 moving vehicle leaving the surface, and a second condition indicative of the moving vehicle returning to the surface, the loft sensor being constructed and arranged so as to be substantially non-interfering with motion of the moving vehicle along the surface, wherein the loft sensor is selected from the group of (i) an accelerometer that senses a vibrational spectrum;
(ii) a microphone assembly that senses a noise spectrum;
(iii) a switch that is responsive to a weight of a user of the moving vehicle;
(iv) a voltage-resistance sensor that generates a voltage indicative of a speed of the moving vehicle; and
(v) a plurality of accelerometers connected for evaluating a speed of the moving vehicle and;
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 data from the loft sensor to determine the loft time from a time difference between the first and second conditions.
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Abstract
The invention detects loft time and/or speed of a vehicle and/or person during activities of moving and jumping. A loft sensor detects leaving the ground and returning 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. A speed sensor can detect speed for selective display to the user, and height may also be determined during airtime.
131 Citations
5 Claims
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1. An apparatus for determining loft time of a moving vehicle off of a surface, the moving 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 moving vehicle leaving the surface, and a second condition indicative of the moving vehicle returning to the surface, the loft sensor being constructed and arranged so as to be substantially non-interfering with motion of the moving vehicle along the surface, wherein the loft sensor is selected from the group of (i) an accelerometer that senses a vibrational spectrum;
(ii) a microphone assembly that senses a noise spectrum;
(iii) a switch that is responsive to a weight of a user of the moving vehicle;
(iv) a voltage-resistance sensor that generates a voltage indicative of a speed of the moving vehicle; and
(v) a plurality of accelerometers connected for evaluating a speed of the moving vehicle and;
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 data from the loft sensor to determine the loft time from a time difference between the first and second conditions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method for determining non-motorized vehicle speed along a surface, the non-motorized vehicle of the type which is ridden along the surface by a user, comprising the steps of:
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monitoring a pitch of the non-motorized vehicle caused by the motion of the non-motorized vehicle relative to the surface;
correlating the pitch to a speed;
informing the user of the speed; and
comparing the pitch to a calibrated pitch spectrum.
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5. A method for determining non-motorized vehicle speed along a surface, the non-motorized vehicle of the type which is ridden along the surface by a user, comprising the steps of:
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monitoring a pitch of the non-motorized vehicle caused by the motion of the non-motorized vehicle relative to the surface;
correlating the pitch to a speed;
informing the user of the speed; and
correlating the pitch with a particular non-motorized vehicle type.
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Specification