Athleticism rating and performance measuring system

• US 8,944,959 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2013
• Issued: 02/03/2015
• 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., Bark, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Thanh, Loan H
• Assistant Examiner(s): JALALZADEH ABYAN, SHILA
• Application Number:
  US14/100,976
• Publication Number:
  US 20140100678A1
• Time in Patent Office: 421 Days
• Field of Search: 482/1, 482/8
• 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. A method of processing athletic sensor data comprising:

receiving through a first wireless communication link of a first portable base unit, performance data of a first athlete collected by one or more sensors during the first athlete'"'"'s performance of a sport-specific athletic activity during a first time frame, wherein the received performance data includes data collected as a result of automatically detecting a plurality of triggering events from one of the one or more sensors during the first athlete'"'"'s performance, wherein the receiving is conducting during the first time frame;

automatically wirelessly transmitting the received performance data during the performance of the sport-specific athletic activity through a second wireless communication link of the first portable base unit wherein the first portable base unit comprises a mobile telephony device;

processing the performance data, inclusive of data from the triggering events, at the base unit by seamlessly integrating the collected performance data into an automatically calculated athletic performance score for the first athlete for the performance of the sport-specific athletic activity utilizing performance data received from the at least one sensor of the one or more sensors collected during the first time frame of the athletic performance; and

automatically outputting the athletic performance score on the mobile telephony device by automatically applying performance data from the first time frame to a normalized athleticism rating equation for the sport-specific activity conducted during the first time frame.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second wireless communication link comprises a link to a wireless telephony network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors comprises a first sensor configured to collect performance data related to a contact force of the first athlete.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

displaying performance results obtained from the performance data on a display of the mobile telephony device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein at least one sensor of the one or more sensors is located on an appendage-worn device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the performance data comprises accelerometer data.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the sport-specific performance data comprises data collected during the athlete'"'"'s performance in a football game.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors comprises a timing sensor and wherein receiving performance data comprises:

automatically detecting a plurality of triggering events from the timing sensor during the first athlete'"'"'s performance of a first test.

9. A sensor system configured to process athletic sensor data comprising:

a first base unit having a mobile telephony device comprising;

a processor;

a receiver configured to automatically receive through a first wireless communication link, performance data collected by an athletic unit configured to be worn by the first athlete during a first athletic event and comprising one or more sensors, wherein the received performance data includes data collected as a result of automatically detecting a plurality of triggering events from one of the one or more sensors; and

a transmitter configured to automatically wirelessly transmit through a second wireless communication link the received performance data of the sport-specific activity to a server; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that when executed by the processor perform at least;

receiving a user input identifying an initiation of an sport-specific athletic event;

processing the performance data collected during the sport-specific athletic event to seamlessly integrate the collected performance data from the first athletic event to automatically calculate a single athletic performance score for the first athlete for the first sport-specific athletic event utilizing performance data received from at least one of the one or more sensors and automatically outputting the single athletic performance score on the mobile telephony device, wherein automatically calculating the single athletic performance score comprises;

automatically applying performance data from the first athletic event to a normalized athleticism rating equation.

10. The sensor system of claim 9, wherein the second wireless communication link comprises a link to a wireless telephony network.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium of the mobile telephony device further comprises computer-executable instructions that when executed by the processor, further perform at least:

displaying performance results obtained from the performance data on a display of the mobile telephony device.

12. The sensor system of claim 11, wherein the displaying of the performance results is during the first athletic event.

13. The sensor system of claim 9, wherein sport-specific performance data comprises data collected during the athlete'"'"'s performance in a football game.

14. The sensor system of claim 13, wherein at least one sensor of the one or more sensors is a timing sensor and receiving performance data comprises:

automatically detecting a plurality of triggering events from the timing sensor during the first athlete'"'"'s performance of a first test.

15. The sensor system of claim 9, wherein at least one sensor of the one or more sensors is configured to collect performance data related to a contact force of the first athlete.

16. The sensor system of claim 9, wherein the performance data comprises accelerometer data.

17. A sensor system configured to be utilized in a calculation of an athletic rating comprising:

a sensor unit comprising;

a processor;

one or more sensors; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that when executed by the processor perform at least;

collecting sensor performance data from at least one sensor of the one or more sensors based upon a selection of a first sport-specific activity from a plurality of sport specific activities from a first external base unit, wherein the received performance data includes data collected as a result of automatically detecting a plurality of triggering events from at least one of the one or more sensors during the first athlete'"'"'s performance; and

automatically transmitting to the first external base unit through a first wireless communication link, sensor performance data collected from at least one of the sensors of the sensor unit during a first user'"'"'s performance of sport specific activity to seamlessly integrate the collected performance data into an automatically calculated normalized and sport-specific single athletic performance score for the first user for the first sport specific activity utilizing performance data received from sensor performance data collected during discrete physical tests associated with the selected first sport specific activity.

18. The sensor system of claim 17, wherein the system further comprises the first external base unit, and the first external base unit comprises:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that when executed by the processor perform a method comprising;

automatically outputting the single athletic performance score on the first external base unit.