Sport swing analysis system
DCFirst Claim
1. A golf swing analysis system for analyzing the swing of a club equipped with a reflective material having a non-uniformly-reflective surface characterized leading and trailing edges and positioned on the head of the club, comprising:
- a ball support;
a plurality of sensors spatially arranged relative to the ball support, each sensor providing a signal indication in response to sensing each of the leading and trailing edges of the reflective material as the head of the club swings through the ball support; and
a computer for analyzing the swing of the club as a function of, at least in part, which sensors sense the leading and trailing edges of the reflective material, and the timing relationship between passage of the leading and trailing edges detected by each such sensor.
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Abstract
A swing analysis system includes a housing having an upper surface and a ball support mounted to the upper surface. A first array of optical sensors is mounted in the upper surface on a first side of the ball support, and a second array of optical sensors is mounted in the upper surface on a second side of the ball support, opposite the first array of sensors. A third array of optical sensors in mounted in the upper surface, with the sensors positioned around the ball support. A controller is coupled to each sensor of the three arrays of sensors for receiving output signals therefrom. The controller monitors the output signals for change in state events and creates data files containing a sequence of events with associated timestamps. The computer is programmed to use the data files to calculate swing path angle, club head speed, club head angle, club head lateral alignment with respect to the ball support, and club head height of an implement (e.g., a golf club) swung over the housing. The system can also be provided with at least one tower attached to a side of the housing and extending above the upper surface. The tower includes additional sensors that are used by the computer to calculate club head loft angle. The computer can also calculate an effective club head speed from the measured values of club head speed, swing path angle, club head lateral alignment and club head angle.
179 Citations
55 Claims
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1. A golf swing analysis system for analyzing the swing of a club equipped with a reflective material having a non-uniformly-reflective surface characterized leading and trailing edges and positioned on the head of the club, comprising:
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a ball support;
a plurality of sensors spatially arranged relative to the ball support, each sensor providing a signal indication in response to sensing each of the leading and trailing edges of the reflective material as the head of the club swings through the ball support; and
a computer for analyzing the swing of the club as a function of, at least in part, which sensors sense the leading and trailing edges of the reflective material, and the timing relationship between passage of the leading and trailing edges detected by each such sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of analyzing a golf swing, comprising:
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applying a reflective material to the head of a club to form a non-uniformly-reflective surface characterized by leading and trailing edges; and
sensing the leading and trailing edges of the reflective material as it passes over each of a plurality of sensors;
analyzing data generated by each of the multiple sensor over which the reflective material has passed. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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31. A golf swing analysis method for use with a golf club having a strip of reflective material that forms a non-uniformly-reflective surface characterized by leading and trailing edges, comprising the steps of:
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(A) emitting a light toward a location in a path of the swung golf club;
(B) receiving light reflected from the reflective material; and
(C) generating at least one signal for each transition in light level reflected from the reflective material corresponding to a leading or trailing edge of the reflective material. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
(C1) differentiating a signal generated by light reflected from the reflective material; and
(C2) correlating the differential signal to transitions in light levels reflected from the reflective material.
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33. The method of claim 32 wherein the width of the reflective material is predetermined and the method further comprises the step of:
(D) dividing the width of the reflective material by the time between two transitions in light reflected from the reflected material to obtain the club head speed.
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34. The method of claim 33 further comprising the step of:
(E) comparing the club head speed to a threshold club head speed to determine whether the transitions in light level are associated with club head movement of interest or the transitions are associated with an undesirable artifact.
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35. The method of claim 34 further comprising the steps of:
(H) correlating reflected light signals for a plurality of locations to determine whether the light level transitions are associated with club head movement of interest or the transitions are associated with an undesirable artifact.
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36. The method of claim 32 further comprising the steps of:
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(F) receiving reflected light at a plurality of locations; and
(G) dividing the distance between two receiving locations by the time between two light transition events to obtain the club head speed.
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37. The method of claim 31 further comprising the step of:
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(J) employing a plurality of transmitters and receivers along the expected golf club head flight path; and
(K) using one or more of the receivers as a trigger for other transmitters and receivers, whereby the activation of a trigger receiver by reflected light activates non-trigger transmitters and receivers.
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38. The method of claim 31 further comprising the step of:
(L) computing a club swing path angle.
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39. The method of claim 31 further comprising the step of:
(M) computing a club head angle.
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40. The method of claim 31 further comprising the step of:
(N) computing a club head lateral alignment.
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41. The method of claim 31 further comprising the step of:
(O) computing an effective club head speed.
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42. The method of claim 31 further comprising the step of:
(P) arranging emitters and detectors perpendicular to the direction of club head travel and parallel to the plane of the club head flight and sensing reflected light to determine the loft angle of the club.
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43. A golf swing analysis system for use with a golf club to be swung, comprising:
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a non-uniformly-reflective surface characterized by leading and trailing edges coupled to the golf club head;
a light source configured to emit light toward a location in a path of the swung golf club;
a light receiver configured to receive light reflected from the non-uniformly-reflective surface; and
a processor configured to generate at least one signal for each transition in light level reflected from the reflective material attached to the club. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
differentiate a signal generated by light reflected from the non-uniformly-reflective surface; and
correlate the differentiated signal to transitions in light levels reflected from the non-uniformly-reflective surface.
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45. The system of claim 44 wherein the processor is further configured to:
divide the width of the attached reflective material by the time between two transitions in light reflected from the non-uniformly-reflective surface to obtain the club head speed.
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46. The system of claim 45 wherein the processor is further configured to:
compare the club head speed to a threshold club head speed to determine whether the transitions in light level are associated with an undesirable artifact.
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47. The system of claim 46 wherein the processor is further configured to:
correlate reflected light signals for a plurality of locations to determine whether the light level transitions are associated with an undesirable artifact.
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48. The system of claim 44 wherein the processor is further configured to:
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receive reflected light at a plurality of locations; and
divide the distance between two receiving locations by the time between two light transition events to obtain the club head speed.
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49. The system of claim 43 wherein the processor is further configured to:
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employ a plurality of transmitters and receivers along the expected golf club head flight path; and
use one or more of the receivers as a trigger for other transmitters and receivers, whereby the activation of a trigger receiver by reflected light activates non-trigger transmitters and receivers.
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50. The system of claim 49 wherein the processor is further configured to activate non-trigger transmitters and receivers at a high power level in response to the activation of a trigger receiver.
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51. The system of claim 43 wherein the processor is further configured to:
compute a club swing path angle.
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52. The system of claim 43 wherein the processor is further configured to:
compute a club head angle.
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53. The system of claim 43 wherein the processor is further configured to:
compute a club head lateral alignment.
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54. The system of claim 43 wherein the processor is further configured to:
compute an effective club head speed.
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55. The system of claim 43 further comprising:
emitters and detectors arranged perpendicular to the direction of club head travel and parallel to the plane of club head flight, the processor configured to determine the loft angle of a passing club from reflected light sensed by the detectors arranged perpendicular to the direction of club head travel.
Specification