Athleticism rating and performance measuring system

• US 8,083,646 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2010
• Issued: 12/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Inventors: Chapa, Rodolfo Jr., Arjomand, Hamid G., Braun, Adam C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Crow, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): JALALZADEH ABYANE, SHILA
• Application Number:
  US12/718,854
• Publication Number:
  US 20100279824A1
• Time in Patent Office: 662 Days
• Field of Search: 482/14, 482/15, 368/2, 348/77, 600/595, 434247-255, 738/654, 700 91- 92, 377/24.2, 968/411
• US Class Current: 482/8
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0009 Computerised real time comparison with previous movements or motion sequences of the user
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0012 Comparing movements or motion sequences with a registered reference
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0065 Evaluating the fitness, e.g. fitness level or fitness index
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0068 Comparison to target or threshold, previous performance or not real time comparison to other individuals
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0071 Distinction between different activities, movements, or kind of sports performed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/026 stabilised by weight
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0661 arranged on the user
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0663 worn on the wrist, e.g. wrist bands
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2102/18 Baseball, rounders or similar games
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/12 Absolute positions, e.g. by using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/13 Relative positions
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/805 Optical or opto-electronic sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/093 Height
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/15 with identification means that can be read by electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/20 with means for remote communication, e.g. internet or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/50 Wireless data transmission, e.g. by radio transmitters or telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2243/0025 Football
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2243/0037 Basketball
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2243/0066 Rugby; American football
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2243/007 American football
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0006 : Computerised comparison for qualitative assessment of motion sequences or the course of a movement
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0062 : Monitoring athletic performances, e.g. for determining the work of a user on an exercise apparatus, the completed jogging or cycling distance
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/03 : Athletic drills or obstacles for sport training, other than foot obstacles for skipping
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/06 : Indicating or scoring devices for games or players , or for other sports activities
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/0616 : Means for conducting or scheduling competition, league, tournaments or rankings
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/0619 : Displays, user interfaces and indicating devices, specially adapted for sport equipment, e.g. display mounted on treadmills
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 : with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 1/22 : in connection with sports or games

Abstract

A universal athleticism rating system and related athletic performance measuring systems for accurately detecting and recording athletic performance are disclosed. The athleticism rating system evaluates individual athletes against a common, standardized set of athletic performance tests. Each athlete performs the athletic tests and his or her scores in the individual tests are entered into a standardized calculation to produce a single athletic performance score. The related performance measuring system is preferably a timing system that ensures quick, easy, and accurate collection of athletic event timing related data without the need for the athlete to wear any special detection devices or the like. In a preferred embodiment, the performance measuring system integrates with the rating system to provide seamless athletic data collection and rating of athletes.

Claims

1. An athleticism performance measuring system comprising:

a portable, self-contained, sensor unit having a sensor configured to measure an athletic performance of an athlete in its sensor field during a first athletic task without being in physical contact with the athlete, wherein the sensor field extends along a first distance of a first axis from a first boundary to a second boundary, the sensor unit comprising;

a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer executable instructions that, when executed, permit the sensor unit to be at least one of a first configuration or a second configuration, wherein at the first configuration, execution of the instructions by the processor cause the processor to perform;

detecting the athlete entering the sensor field along the first boundary and in response, storing a first time value, but not reporting a triggering event;

separately detecting the athlete exiting the sensor field along the second boundary and in response, storing a second time value, but not reporting a triggering event;

determining whether a difference between the first time value and the second time value exceeds a dwell threshold; and

wherein if the dwell threshold is not exceeded, determining that the first time value, but not the second time value, is the first triggering event, and if the dwell threshold is exceeded, determining that the second value, but not the first value, is determined to be the first triggering event; and

wherein at the second configuration, execution of the instructions causes the processor to perform;

detecting the athlete entering the sensor field along the first boundary and in response, storing a third time value and initiating a re-arm time threshold in which subsequent detections of the athlete entering the sensor field during the re-arm time threshold are prevented from being utilized as a triggering event.

2. The athleticism performance measuring system of claim 1, further comprising a base unit that is separate from said sensor unit, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions that upon execution are configured to perform:

transmitting at least one triggering event to the base unit.

3. The athleticism performance measuring system of claim 2, wherein the sensor unit is a first sensor unit and the system further comprises a second sensor unit having a second sensor and a second computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that upon execution by the processor are configured to perform:

transmitting at least one triggering event to the base unit.

4. The athleticism performance measuring system of claim 3, the second sensor is configured to automatically measure an athletic performance of the athlete in a second sensor field during a second athletic task without being in physical contact with the athlete, wherein the second sensor field extends along a first distance of a first axis from a first boundary to a second boundary.

5. The athleticism performance measuring system of claim 4, further comprising a third computer-readable medium external to the first and the second sensor units, the third computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that upon execution by the processor are configured to perform:

calculating a performance rating result for a specific athletic sport based on, at least in part, triggering events received from the first and second sensor units.

6. The athleticism performance measuring system of claim 5, wherein the calculation of the performance rating result comprises the application of information relating to the triggering events to a normalized sport-specific athleticism rating equation.

7. The athleticism performance measuring system of claim 3, wherein the first and the second computer-readable medium each comprise computer-executable instructions that upon execution by a processor are configured to perform:

receiving an electronic signal from a base unit responsive to a selection of the first athletic task that is configured to calibrate the respective sensor for detection of a user performing the first athletic task.

8. The athleticism performance measuring system of claim 1, wherein said sensor field is provided by a first sensor that is positioned within said sensor unit so as to be directed upward from a substantially horizontal plane by about 30 degrees plus or minus 10 degrees.

9. The athleticism performance measuring system of claim 8, wherein a tower portion houses the sensor, wherein the tower portion is slideably secured to a base portion to permit a vertical height of the sensor to be adjustable.

10. The athleticism performance measuring system of claim 9, further comprising a locking means configured to hold said tower portion at a predetermined position relative to said base portion.

11. The athleticism performance measuring system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured to simultaneously be at the first configuration and at the second configuration.

12. The athleticism performance measuring system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured to enter the second configuration after the determination of the first triggering event.

13. The athleticism performance measuring system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions that upon execution by the processor are configured to perform:

based on the first athletic task, configuring the sensor to automatically switch between the first configuration and the second configuration.

14. The athleticism performance measuring system of claim 1, wherein said sensor comprises an optical device that produces an output voltage proportional to the distance an object is located from the sensor.

15. An athleticism performance measuring system, comprising:

a base unit configured to remain separate from an athlete performing a first athletic task, having a first processor and a first non-transitory computer-readable medium, the first non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that when executed by the first processor, perform;

receiving a user input selecting a predefined sport-specific athletic task from a plurality of predetermined defined athletic tasks;

based upon the selected athletic task, transmitting an electronic signal from the base unit to a first sensor unit, the electronic signal being configured to place the first sensor unit in a first configuration, which instructs the first sensor unit to detect a first triggering event wherein detecting the first triggering event comprises;

detecting an athlete entering a sensor field along a first boundary and in response, storing a first time value, but not reporting a triggering event;

separately detecting the athlete exiting the sensor field along a second boundary and in response, storing a second time value, but not reporting a triggering event;

determining whether a difference between the first time value and the second time value exceeds a dwell threshold; and

wherein if the threshold is not exceeded, the first time value but not the second time value is determined to be a first triggering event, and if the threshold is exceeded, the second value but not the first value is determined to be the first triggering event; and

receiving, at the base unit, the respective time value of the first triggering event.

16. The athleticism performance measuring system of claim 15, wherein the first computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions that when executed by the first processor, perform:

transmitting an electronic signal from the base unit to a second sensor unit configured to place the first sensor unit in a second configuration, which instructs the second sensor unit to detect a first triggering event wherein detecting the first triggering event comprises;

detecting the athlete entering a sensor field along the first boundary and in response, storing a third time value and initiating a re-arm time threshold in which subsequent detections of the athlete entering the sensor field during the re-arm time threshold are prevented from being utilized as a triggering event.