Operations with instrumented game ball

• US 10,076,685 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2013
• Issued: 09/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Russell Brands LLC (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Russell Brands LLC (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Inventors: King, Kevin William, Tyson, Mathew Anthony, Davisson, Mark Joseph, Knittle, John Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): PIGGUSH, AARON C
• Application Number:
  US14/411,938
• Publication Number:
  US 20160001136A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,905 Days
• Field of Search: 320107, 320108, 320115, 473570
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 15/02 with illuminating devices
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0034 during flight
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/10 Positions
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/30 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/34 Angular speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/35 Spin
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/40 Acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/80 Special sensors, transducers or devices therefor
• 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 American football A63B2243/007
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2243/0037 Basketball
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0021 Tracking a path or terminating locations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 41/00 Hollow inflatable balls
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 43/004 electrically conductive, e.g. for automatic arbitration
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 45/00 Apparatus or methods for manufacturing balls working of plastics or substances in a plastic state B29
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/0071 for basketball
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2225 used in active tags, i.e. provided with its own power source or in passive tags, i.e. deriving power from RF signal
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/60 responsive to the presence of foreign objects, e.g. detection of living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 : involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment

Abstract

This document provides a computer-implemented method that includes placing an athletic ball containing a battery on an inductive charging device; generating an electric or magnetic field, or both with the inductive charging device; receiving energy from the field or fields via a receptor located inside the athletic ball; and charging a battery inside the athletic ball using the received energy. This document also provides devices and methods for detecting events with an instrumented player-controllable game device, such as an event of a basketball or soccer ball passing through a goal.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

placing on an inductive charging device an athletic ball that comprises a battery, a shell having multiple layers including at least an outermost layer, a middle layer, and an innermost bladder layer, the outermost layer and the middle layer each extending integrally around the entire bladder layer, wherein either the middle layer or the bladder layer have a depression formed in a surface of the layer and a metallic coil set within the depression, and the bladder layer having a pocket holding the battery;

generating an electric or magnetic field, or both, with the inductive charging device;

receiving, by the metallic coil energy from the field or fields; and

charging the battery using the received energy.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting data wirelessly from the ball in response to sensing the inductive charging device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more coils include a plurality of coils in different hemispheres of the athletic ball so as to enable charging of the battery when the athletic ball is at different rotational angles in relation to the inductive charging device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more coils are formed integrally with a flexible printed circuit board.

5. An athletic game ball system, comprising:

a shell constructed from multiple substantially spherical concentric layers including at least an outermost layer, a middle layer, and an innermost bladder layer, the outermost layer and the middle layer each extending integrally around the entire bladder layer, wherein either the middle layer or the bladder layer have a depression formed in a surface of the layer;

one or more electronic sensors located within a pocket of the bladder; and

one or more inductive electric secondary charging coils located within the depression and connected to provide electrical energy to one or more energy storage devices connected to supply power for operating the one or more sensors.

6. The athletic game ball system of claim 5, further comprising a circuit board located within the pocket supporting the electronic sensors and associated circuitry for monitoring motion of the game ball.

7. The athletic game ball system of claim 5, wherein the one or more sensors comprise (i) an accelerometer, (ii) a magnetometer or angular rate sensor, and (iii) a near field communications sensor.

8. The athletic gaming ball system of claim 5, wherein the one or more inductive electric secondary coils include a plurality of coils in different hemispheres of the ball so as to enable charging of the battery when the ball is at different rotational angles in relation to a charging base.

9. The athletic gaming ball system of claim 5, wherein the one or more inductive electric secondary coils are formed integrally with a flexible printed circuit board.

10. The athletic gaming ball system of claim 5, wherein the associated electronics are programmed to identify perturbations in an electric or magnetic field around the ball so as to identify when the ball has passed near a gaming goal.

11. A method of constructing an instrumented athletic game ball, the method comprising:

providing a ball bladder layer that is part of a shell of the game ball having a pocket;

providing an electronic sensor package in the pocket;

providing, outwardly of the ball bladder layer, a substantially spherical middle layer extending integrally around the entire bladder layer and having a depression formed in an outer surface of the middle layer;

applying within the depression of the surface of the middle layer one or more inductive charging coils;

connecting the one or more inductive charging coils to the electronic sensor package; and

providing a substantially spherical outermost layer extending integrally around the entire middle layer.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one of the one or more inductive charging coils is located to surround the pocket in the bladder.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the electronic sensor package includes a battery for powering components of the electronics sensor package and for receiving electrical charging power from the inductive charging coil.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising testing charging of the electronic sensor package via the one or more inductive charging coils to verify proper operation of the game ball.