Impact measuring game ball

• US 7,273,431 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2006
• Issued: 09/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Donald L. Devall
• Original Assignee: Donald L. Devall
• Inventors: DeVall, Donald L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pezzuto; Robert E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): RADA, ALEX P
• Application Number:
  US11/333,464
• Publication Number:
  US 20070167266A1
• Time in Patent Office: 616 Days
• Field of Search: 273/108, 273/108.4, 473569-570
• US Class Current: 473/570
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/17 Counting, e.g. counting periodical movements, revolutions or cycles, or including further data processing to determine distances or speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/40 Acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/53 Force of an impact, e.g. blow or punch
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/833 Sensors arranged on the exercise apparatus or sports implement
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/50 Wireless data transmission, e.g. by radio transmitters or telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 43/00 Balls with special arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/002 for football American-football dummies A63B69/34

Abstract

A game ball is instrumented with a transducer to measure the impact forces on the ball and/or the decelerations by the ball experienced during an attempted catch by a person. The impact forces on the ball are equal and opposite to the forces on the hands of a person catching the ball so that the ball may be used as a training apparatus to teach a person the proper technique to catch a ball. A preferred catching technique includes decelerating the approaching ball to rest by the hands such that the action time of the catch is increased and the resulting force on the hands and the ball is decreased. Wireless transmission of data from the ball is sent to a remote receiver in one embodiment.

Claims

1. A sports apparatus comprising:

a game ball having an interior cavity extending to at least one outer surface of the ball;

electronic control circuitry secured within the interior cavity;

a transducer coupled to the electronic control circuitry and secured within the interior cavity such that linear deceleration of the ball is measured by the transducer and recorded by the control circuitry after a discrete change in linear deceleration is sensed by the transducer compared to the atmospheric projectile motion of the ball thereby indicating an attempted catch of the ball by a person;

linear decleration of the ball is measured during the attempted catch of the ball by a person; and

a display coupled to the control circuitry within the internal cavity such that the display is visible to a human holding the ball after the attempted catch.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the display indicates a maximum force on the ball during an attempted catch of the ball by the person.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the display numerically indicates an average force measured on the ball during an attempted catch of the ball by the person.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the display indicates a graphical representation of force on the ball as a function of time during an attempted catch of the ball by the person.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the display indicates, after an attempted catch of the ball, velocity of the ball as the ball approaches a person attempting to catch the ball.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the display indicates duration of the deceleration of the ball during an attempted catch of the ball by a person.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising at least one illumination source fixed to the ball.

8. The illumination source of claim 7 comprises a flashing, light emitting diode.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the control circuitry computes force on the ball due to deceleration of the ball as the ball is attempted to be caught by a person.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the transducer is an accelerometer.

11. A sports apparatus comprising:

a game ball having an interior cavity extending to at least one outer surface of the ball;

electronic control circuitry secured within the interior cavity;

a transducer coupled to the electronic control circuitry and secured within the interior cavity such that a linear force on the ball is measured by the transducer at least during a time when the ball is attempted to be caught by a person;

a battery power supply connected to the control circuitry;

a wireless radio frequency transmitter coupled to the control circuitry such that data measured by the transducer are transmitted to a remotely located radio frequency receiver; and

a display coupled to the receiver to visually indicate the data measured by the transducer.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the display numerically indicates a maximum force measured by the transducer during an attempted catch of the ball by the person.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the display indicates an average force measured by the transducer during an attempted catch of the ball by the person.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the display indicates velocity of the ball, the value of which is calculated by the electronic circuitry, as the ball approaches a person attempting to catch the ball.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the display indicates duration of forces experienced by the ball during an attempted catch of the ball by a person.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising at least one illumination source fixed to the ball.

17. The illumination source of claim 16 comprises a flashing, light emitting diode.

18. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the transducer is a force transducer.

19. A method of measuring at least one force on a game ball during an act of a person catching the ball comprising:

equipping the ball with a transducer to measure at least one of linear deceleration on the ball and linear force on the ball;

coupling electronic circuitry to the transducer to record at least one of linear deceleration on the ball and linear force on the ball during the act of catching the ball by a person; and

displaying at least one of an average linear force on the ball and a maximum linear force on the ball as measured by the transducer during the act of a person catching the ball.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising:

transmitting a radio frequency signal to a remote radio frequency receiver, said signal comprising force data as measured by the transducer.