Golf club and ball performance monitor having an ultrasonic trigger
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An imaging system for determining the kinematics of an object swung by a player, comprising:
- an ultrasonic trigger positioned in front of a target area through which an object passes, operable to determine the movement of the object, wherein the ultrasonic trigger comprises at least one emitter and at least one receiver, and wherein the movement of the object comprises the velocity and spatial position of the object;
a computing device operatively connected to the ultrasonic trigger and operable to receive the velocity and spatial position of the object;
an imaging device operatively connected to the computing device and operable to capture consecutive optical images of the object, wherein the imaging device receives a dwell time and number of consecutive optical images based on the movement of the object;
wherein the ultrasonic trigger emits sound waves periodically using pulses, and a time period between the pulses is greater than or equal to twice a distance from the ultrasonic trigger to the target area.
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Abstract
An ultrasonic trigger for a golf equipment performance monitor is described. In a preferred embodiment, the ultrasonic trigger comprises at least one emitter and receiver. The emitters periodically generate sound waves at an ultrasonic frequency. The sound waves are targeted towards an object or objects within a target area. The sound waves are reflected by the objects within the target area, and are detected by at least one receiver. The receiver may be connected to a computational device to determine the position and/or velocity of the objects within the field of view.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. An imaging system for determining the kinematics of an object swung by a player, comprising:
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an ultrasonic trigger positioned in front of a target area through which an object passes, operable to determine the movement of the object, wherein the ultrasonic trigger comprises at least one emitter and at least one receiver, and wherein the movement of the object comprises the velocity and spatial position of the object; a computing device operatively connected to the ultrasonic trigger and operable to receive the velocity and spatial position of the object; an imaging device operatively connected to the computing device and operable to capture consecutive optical images of the object, wherein the imaging device receives a dwell time and number of consecutive optical images based on the movement of the object; wherein the ultrasonic trigger emits sound waves periodically using pulses, and a time period between the pulses is greater than or equal to twice a distance from the ultrasonic trigger to the target area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 21)
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9. A system for simultaneously measuring kinematics of a golf club and a golf ball during a golfer'"'"'s striking of a golf ball, the system comprising:
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a first camera and a second camera, each of the first and second cameras focused toward a predetermined field of view; a golf club having at least one optical marker; a golf ball within the predetermined field of view; and an ultrasonic trigger positioned in front of a target area through which a golf club passes, the ultrasonic trigger emitting periodic ultrasonic pulses along a path of a golf club swing, wherein a time period between the periodic ultrasonic pulses is greater than or equal to twice the distance from the ultrasonic trigger to a target area; a computing device that is operatively connected to the ultrasonic trigger and estimates the golf club speed based on output from the ultrasonic trigger, wherein the first and second cameras capture optical images of at least one of the golf ball and golf club based on the estimated golf club speed. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An imaging system for determining the kinematics of an object swung by a player, comprising:
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an ultrasonic trigger comprising an emitter and a receiver, wherein the emitter is positioned in front of a path of motion of an object and emits ultrasonic waves along the path of motion of the object, and wherein the ultrasonic trigger determines the position and velocity of the object; a computing device operatively connected to the ultrasonic trigger that calculates a dwell time for consecutive optical images based on the position and velocity of the object; and an imaging device operatively connected to the computing device that captures consecutive optical images of one or more objects based on the dwell time; wherein the ultrasonic trigger is positioned to determine the movement of an object swung by a left or right handed player; and wherein the ultrasonic trigger emits periodic ultrasonic pulses along a path of a golf club swing, wherein a time period between the periodic ultrasonic pulses is greater than or equal to twice a distance from the ultrasonic trigger to a target area. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification