System and method for improving a basketball player's shooting including a tracking and control system for tracking, controlling and reporting statistics

• US 9,233,292 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2012
• Issued: 01/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Shoot-A-Way Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Shoot-A-Way Incorporated
• Inventors: Joseph, John G., Geiser, Troy David, Abnett, Albert Charles
• Primary Examiner(s): Aryanpour, Mitra
• Application Number:
  US13/529,903
• Publication Number:
  US 20130157786A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,300 Days
• Field of Search: 473/433, 473/422, 473/447, 473/431, 473/432, 473479-481, 473/467
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0034 during flight
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0056 for statistical or strategic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2063/001 Targets or goals with ball-returning means
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/025 on rollers or wheels
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0694 Visual indication, e.g. Indicia
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2210/50 Size reducing arrangements for stowing or transport
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/13 Relative positions
• 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 2220/20 Distances or displacements
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/802 Ultra-sound sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/805 Optical or opto-electronic sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/89 Field sensors, e.g. radar systems
• 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 2225/74 with powered illuminating means, e.g. lights
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0021 Tracking a path or terminating locations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0075 Means for generating exercise programs or schemes, e.g. computerized virtual trainer, e.g. using expert databases
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 47/002 Devices for dispensing balls, e.g. from a reservoir automatic teeing devices A63B57/0006; devices for projecting balls A63B69/40
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 47/02 for picking-up or collecting
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 63/083 for basketball
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/0071 : for basketball
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/40 : Stationarily-arranged devices for projecting balls or other bodies golf cups with ball ejector means A63B57/405; traps for clay-pigeon targets F41J9/18
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/022 : Backstops, cages, enclosures or the like, e.g. for spectator protection, for arresting balls
• 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: G01S 13/582 : adapted for simultaneous range and velocity measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/88 : Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/0038 : Sports
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 : relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising

Abstract

A system and method for improving a player'"'"'s efficiency in shooting by providing a player with various shooting challenge routines at which a player makes either a total number of shots or a total number shots in a row. Statistics regarding the player'"'"'s performance are gathered or collected, stored and/or tracked, printed and/or evaluated and the player can use the information to improve his or her efficiency at one or more of the plurality of different locations where the player shoots the basketball. One embodiment includes the ability of players from the same or different teams to compare statistics and enables the launchers at different locations to launch substantially exactly the same pass to different players to facilitate such competition.

Claims

1. A system for assisting basketball practice, comprising:

a) a launcher which is programmable;

b) an interface having a plurality of indicia for programming the launcher to make a series of different passes to a player, said plurality of indicia arranged in spaced angular positions on a display or interface to generally correspond to a position or group of positions on a basketball court; and

c) a control system on said launcher which

i) determines a location where said player shot from and whether said player successfully scores a goal from said location; and

ii) records, in a computer, the percentage or number of shots made from each location on said basketball court that corresponds to said position or group of positions on said plurality of indicia on said interface;

d) a report generator for generating at least one report to track, analyze, or compare shooting statistics or data from said position or said group of positions on said basketball court that correspond to said position or said group of positions on said plurality of indicia on said interface.

2. A system according to claim 1, in which said control system places data recorded about said player'"'"'s performance onto a website available on the Internet.

3. A system according to claim 1, in which said control system records at least one distance from which a shot was taken, an arch of said shot or release time.

4. A system according to claim 3, in which said control system places data recorded about said player'"'"'s performance onto a website available on the Internet.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein said control system comprises a measurement system that measures a distance from which said player shot the basketball, with said measurement being recorded in said computer.

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein said measurement system comprises a Doppler system.

7. A system according to claim 5, wherein said launcher launches balls along at least one vector selected by a user, said measurement system measuring said shots along said at least one vector.

8. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said system further comprises:

said interface enabling said statistics or data to be uploaded to a website comprising an associated server or database for storing said statistics and data;

said statistics or data comprising at least one of the following;

distance measurements for each location that said at least one player took a shot;

minimum age, maximum age, beginning date, ending date, gender, shooting locations, shooting distance, city, county, state, country.

9. The system as recited in claim 8 wherein said website maintains cumulative data and statistics for at least one player.

10. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said reports generator generates at least one report in response to a selection of a plurality of criteria, said plurality of criteria comprising a plurality of the following:

player, minimum age, maximum age, beginning date, ending date, gender, shooting locations, shooting distance, city, county, state, country.

11. The system as recited in claim 10 wherein at least one of said plurality of criteria is a shooting distance,

said at least one report showing said at least one player'"'"'s shooting accuracy at said shooting distance.

12. The system as recited in claim 10 wherein at least one of said plurality of criteria is a shooting distance,

said at least one report showing a comparison of said at least one player'"'"'s shooting accuracy to at least one other player at said shooting distance.

13. The system as recited in claim 12 wherein said at least one player and said at least one other player are on a first team.

14. The system as recited in claim 12 wherein said at least one player is on a first team and said at least one other player is on a second team.

15. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said statistics or data comprises sessions data generated by a single launcher used during a single shooting session.

16. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said statistics or data comprises sessions data generated by a single launcher used during a multiple shooting sessions.

17. The system as recited in claim 16 wherein said statistics or data comprises sessions data generated by a plurality of launchers;

said interface being adapted to permit said sessions data from each of said plurality of launchers to be uploaded to a website at the same or different times.

18. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said interface is adapted to permit a user to create a roster of players for downloading to said at least one launcher.

19. The system as recited in claim 18 wherein said roster of players is stored on a website, said interface and said website being adapted to store cumulative data relative to a plurality of players'"'"' shooting statistics and data for comparisons by other users authorized to access said website.

20. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said system further comprises:

a plurality of launchers, each adapted to collect a plurality of statistics and data associated with a plurality of players'"'"' shooting.

21. The system as recited in claim 20 wherein each of said plurality of launchers comprises said interface having a plurality of buttons arranged in a layout on said interface that generally corresponds to a plurality of locations from which a player may shoot a basketball.

22. The system as recited in claim 21 wherein each of said plurality of launchers causes a plurality of basketballs to be launched to a plurality of said plurality of locations in the order in which said plurality of buttons were actuated by the user on said interface.

23. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said interface is adapted to enable a user to view and print said at least one report.

24. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said at least one report comprises a mapping report or scatter diagram shooting a shooting accuracy for a plurality of distances along a vector extending from said launcher.