Miniature radar for measuring club head speed and tempo
First Claim
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1. A swing motion measuring device for measuring the speed and duration of a swing of a sports object that is simple, low in cost, has utility for the average amateur user, is easy to operate, and is convenient to use without assistance and without interrupting a practice exercise, the device comprising:
- a portable housing containing a battery powered transmitter-receiver, a Doppler detector and a processor;
the transmitter-receiver being operative to transmit a radar signal and to receive said transmitted radar signal as reflected from a swinging sports object;
the Doppler detector being coupled to the transmitter-receiver and operative to detect from said transmitted radar signal and said received reflected radar signal a Doppler speed signal representative of the speed of the swinging sports object; and
the processor being coupled to the detector and programmed to process said detected Doppler speed signal and;
to derive from said detected Doppler speed signal;
a swing start-time value representing a start of a swing of the sports object,a maximum value of said detected Doppler speed signal, anda swing end-time value responsive to the occurrence of the maximum value of said detected Doppler speed signal and representing a point for contact of the swinging sports object with a ball;
to derive a swing-speed output signal responsive to said derived maximum value of said detected Doppler speed signal, said swing-speed output signal being representative of a speed of the swinging sports object; and
to derive a swing-tempo output signal responsive to the derived swing start-time and the derived end-time values, said swing-tempo output signal being representative of the duration of the swing of the sports object.
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Abstract
A golf club head swing timing device that uses radar to measure the duration of a golf swing. Club head speed measurement is also provided. The details of the disclosed embodiments include the ability of detecting the start and end of a golf swing, and to do so from information from the radar signal. Preferably, RF Doppler radar is used. Various modes of use and display are provided.
43 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A swing motion measuring device for measuring the speed and duration of a swing of a sports object that is simple, low in cost, has utility for the average amateur user, is easy to operate, and is convenient to use without assistance and without interrupting a practice exercise, the device comprising:
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a portable housing containing a battery powered transmitter-receiver, a Doppler detector and a processor; the transmitter-receiver being operative to transmit a radar signal and to receive said transmitted radar signal as reflected from a swinging sports object; the Doppler detector being coupled to the transmitter-receiver and operative to detect from said transmitted radar signal and said received reflected radar signal a Doppler speed signal representative of the speed of the swinging sports object; and the processor being coupled to the detector and programmed to process said detected Doppler speed signal and; to derive from said detected Doppler speed signal; a swing start-time value representing a start of a swing of the sports object, a maximum value of said detected Doppler speed signal, and a swing end-time value responsive to the occurrence of the maximum value of said detected Doppler speed signal and representing a point for contact of the swinging sports object with a ball; to derive a swing-speed output signal responsive to said derived maximum value of said detected Doppler speed signal, said swing-speed output signal being representative of a speed of the swinging sports object; and to derive a swing-tempo output signal responsive to the derived swing start-time and the derived end-time values, said swing-tempo output signal being representative of the duration of the swing of the sports object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A swing motion measuring device for measuring the duration of a swing of a sports object, the device comprising:
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a transmitter-receiver operative to transmit a radar signal and to receive said radar signal when reflected from a swinging sports object; a Doppler detector coupled to the transmitter-receiver and operative to detect from said transmitted radar signal and said received reflected radar signals a speed signal representative of the speed of the swinging sports object; and a processor coupled to the detector and programmed to process said detected speed signal and determine from said detected speed signal a start of the swing of the sports object, an end of the swing of the sports object, and time elapsed between the beginning and the end of the swing of the sports object; the processor being programmed to determine an occurrence of a maximum value of said detected speed signal following the start of the swing and to determine the end of the swing of the sports object in response to said determined occurrence of the maximum value of the detected speed signal; an output device; a common housing containing the transmitter-receiver, the Doppler detector, the processor and the output device and one or more batteries for operating transmitter-receiver, the Doppler detector, the processor and the output device; and the processor being operative to control the output device to annunciate a sports object swing duration value in response to the determined elapsed time. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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Specification