Monitoring water sports performance

• US 7,272,499 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2003
• Issued: 09/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Catapult Group International Pty Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Sportzco Pty., Ltd.
• Inventors: Davey, Neil, Grenfell, Ronald, James, Daniel, Zhang, Kefei, MacKintosh, Colin
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US10/531,263
• Publication Number:
  US 20060212271A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,418 Days
• Field of Search: 701/25, 701/207, 701/213, 702/188
• US Class Current: 701/213
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0025 Tracking the path or location of one or more users, e.g. players of a game
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/12 Absolute positions, e.g. by using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/30 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/40 Acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/50 Wireless data transmission, e.g. by radio transmitters or telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/60 Apparatus used in water
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2230/06 heartbeat rate only
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2230/207 P-O2, i.e. partial O2 value
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2230/42 rate
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0021 Tracking a path or terminating locations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/06 for rowing or sculling
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/06 Indicating or scoring devices for games or players , or for other sports activities
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 49/00 Arrangements of nautical instruments or navigational aids nautical measuring instruments G01C; radio navigation, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S
• CPC Class Codes: B63H 16/00 Marine propulsion by muscle power
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/00 Measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, persons, animals or other moving solid bodies, e.g. using odometers, using pedometers

Abstract

A data logger for a rowing shell and crew which includes an accelerometer, an impeller or flow sensor to sense velocity, a GPS unit to sense position and velocity, a heart rate monitor, a controller programmed to manipulate the data and provide a display of the heart rate, boat speed, stroke rate etc. The data can be stored or transmitted to a remote computer for use by the coach.

Claims

1. A data logger for use on a sports rowing craft comprising:

a. a global position sensor mountable on a boat to derive three dimensional positioning data relative to elapsed time;

b. at least one accelerometer mountable on the boat to derive acceleration and velocity data in three dimensions;

c. a power supply;

d. a microcontroller with a clock to interrogate the global position sensor at a frequency of at least 1 Hz and to measure the accelerometer data;

e. physiological sensors adapted to be fitted to each crew member and arranged to communicate with said microcontroller;

f. said microcontroller being programmed to manipulate the received data and transform it into useful parameters for assessing crew and craft performance; and

selectively including

g. storage means for storing the parameters; and

h. telemetry means for transmitting the parameters to a remote control point.

2. A data logger as claimed in claim 1 that also includes a boat speed sensor.

3. A data logger as claimed in claim 1 in which the physiological sensor is a heart rate monitor.

4. A data logger as claimed in claim 1 in which velocity is derived from the global position sensor and the accelerometer data is sampled to derive data on stroke characteristics and rowing stroke rate.

5. A data logger as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the accelerometer data is integrated to derive velocity related movement characteristics and drift is checked every second using the output from the global position sensor.

6. A data logger as claimed in claim 5 wherein an inertial navigation system based on the accelerometer data is used to determine position when the GPS system is unable to receive data.