SPORTS APPARATUS AND METHOD

• US 20140128182A1
• Filed: 01/13/2014
• Published: 05/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sstatzz Oy
• Original Assignee: Sstatzz Oy
• Inventors: HOHTERI, HARRI
• Granted Patent: US 9,265,991 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/570
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/19 Sporting applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/08 Sport
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/017 Detecting state or type of motion
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0294 Trajectory determination or predictive filtering, e.g. target tracking or Kalman filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions

Abstract

A sports apparatus for monitoring movement of a sport projectile includes a sensor and a wireless interface disposed within the sport projectile for communicating sampled data signals from the sensor, a portable communication device in wireless communication with the wireless sensor for receiving sampled data signals from the wireless sensor, the sampled data signals indicative of a motion of the sport projectile. The portable communication device includes a controller having a memory including programming instructions that when executed by the processor cause the controller to detect a sensor signal from the wireless interface, determine a motion characteristic of the sport projectile from the motion characteristic from the sensor signal, and determine if the motion characteristic is passage of the sports projectile through a goal structure, motion of the sports projectile after a shot or an impact of the sport projectile with an object.

Claims

1. A sports apparatus for monitoring movement of a sport projectile, comprising:

a sensor disposed within the sport projectile;

a wireless interface disposed within the sport projectile for communicating sampled data signals from the sensor;

a portable communication device coupled in wireless communication with the wireless interface of the sport projectile for receiving sampled data signals from the sensor, the sampled data signals indicative of a motion of the sport projectile;

wherein the portable communication device comprises a processor having a memory including programming instructions that when executed by the processor are configured to cause the processor to;

detect a sensor signal from the wireless interface, the sensor signal comprising sampled data signals from the sensor;

determine a motion characteristic of the sport projectile from the sensor signal; and

determine if the motion characteristic comprises motion of the sports projectile flying;

determine if the motion characteristic comprises passage of the sports projectile through a goal structure; and

determine if the motion characteristic comprises an impact of the sport projectile with an object.

2. The sports apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sports projectile comprises a ball, and a central armoured core within the ball is configured to house the sensor and the wireless interface.

3. The sports apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless interface comprises three sets of dipoles, each individually excitable by the wireless interface and wherein the three dipoles are disposed in an orthogonal manner along three Cartesian axes.

4. The sports apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless interface is a short range radio receiver/transmitter and the portable communication device is a smart phone.

5. The sports apparatus of claim 1, comprising a wirelessly chargeable battery for the wireless interface disposed within the sport projectile.

6. The sports apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sports projectile is one or more of a puck, a ball or a ground surface.

7. The sports apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor signal from the wireless interface corresponds to a detected change in a magnetic field;

and the processor is configured to determine the passage of the sport projectile through the goal structure based on the change in the magnetic field.

8. The sports apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor signal from the wireless interface corresponds to a detected change in an angular velocity;

and the processor is configured to determine the passage of the sport projectile through the goal structure based on the detected change in the angular velocity.

9. The sports apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to determine a point value associated with the passage of the sport projectile through the goal structure by:

detecting a sensor signal from the wireless interface corresponding to a location of the sport projectile at a point in time corresponding to a starting point of the motion characteristic;

comparing the location of the sport projectile at the starting point of the motion characteristic to a mapping of a playing area; and

determining the point value based on the location of the sport projectile at the starting point of the motion characteristic relative to the mapping of the playing area, wherein a different point value can be assigned to a different starting point.

10. The sports apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine that the motion characteristic comprises impact of the sport projectile with an object by:

detecting a period of small changes in the sensor data; and

detecting a period of rapidly changing sensor data from the wireless interface within a same sensor data sample set.

11. The sports apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:

detect a first sensor signal indicative of a launching of the sports projectile into the air, the first sensor signal comprising an accelerometer signal;

detect a second sensor signal indicative of an airborne travel of the sports projectile, the second sensor signal comprising an accelerometer signal that is substantially constant compared with the first signal;

detect a third sensor signal indicative of the passage of the sports projectile through the goal structure; and

detect a fourth sensor signal indicative of the sports projectile striking an object, the fourth sensor signal comprising an accelerometer signal that changes substantially from the second sensor signal.

12. The sports apparatus of claim 1, wherein a central core of the sports projectile comprises a data buffer for storing data from the sensor, the programming instructions that when executed by a computing hardware, are configured to cause the computing hardware to:

compare changes in sampled sensor data to a predefined threshold for a predetermined number of data samples;

transmit sensor data to the portable communication device only when the changes in the sampled sensor data exceed the predefined threshold; and

store the sampled sensor data when the changes in the sampled sensor data are less than the predefined threshold.

13. The sports apparatus of claim 12, the computing hardware including programming instructions, that when executed by a microcontroller in the central core, are configured to cause the computing hardware to:

determine that the changes in the sampled sensor data are greater than the predetermined threshold over a time period exceeding a predetermined time period; and

store the changes in the sampled sensor data.

14. The sports apparatus of claim 1, comprising a server arrangement remote from and communicatively coupled with the portable electronic device, the portable electronic device configured to communicating analysis data of the sensor signal to a network.

15. A method of using a sports apparatus for monitoring movement of a sports projectile including a sensor and a wireless interface disposed within the sport projectile for communicating sampled data signals from the sensor, and a portable communication device coupled in wireless communication with the sensor in the sport projectile for receiving sampled data signals from the sensor, the sampled data signals indicative of a motion of the sport projectile, the method comprising:

detecting in the portable communication device, a sensor signal from the wireless interface, the sensor signal comprising sampled data signals from the sensor;

determining a motion characteristic of the sport projectile from the motion characteristic from the sensor signal; and

determining if the motion characteristic comprises motion of the sports projectile flying,

determining if the motion characteristic comprises passage of the sports projectile through a goal structure; and

determining if the motion characteristic comprises an impact of the sport projectile with an object.

16. The method of claim 15, comprising:

detecting a sensor signal from the wireless interface corresponding to a change in a magnetic field; and

determining a passage of the sport projectile through the goal structure based on the change in the magnetic field and the determined motion characteristic.

17. The method of claim 15, comprising:

detecting a sensor signal from the wireless interface corresponding to a change in an angular velocity; and

determining a passage of the sport projectile through the goal structure based on the change in the angular velocity and the determined motion characteristic.

18. The method of claim 15, comprising:

determining a point value associated with the passage of the sport projectile through the goal structure by;

detecting a sensor signal from the wireless interface corresponding to a location of the sport projectile at a point in time corresponding to a starting point of the motion characteristic;

comparing the location of the sport projectile at the starting point of the motion characteristic to a mapping of a playing area; and

determining the point value based on the location of the sport projectile at the starting point of the motion characteristic relative to the mapping of the playing area, wherein a different point value can be assigned to a different starting point.

19. The method of claim 15, comprising:

determining the motion characteristic comprising impact of the sport projectile with an object by;

detecting a period of small changes in the sensor data; and

detecting a period of rapidly changing sensor data from the wireless interface within a same sensor data sample set.

20. The method of claim 15, comprising:

detecting a first sensor signal indicative of a launching of the sports projectile into the air, the first signal comprising an accelerometer signal;

detecting a second sensor signal indicative of an airborne travel of the sports projectile, the second sensor signal comprising an accelerometer signal that is substantially constant compared with the first signal;

detecting a third sensor signal indicative of the passage of the sports projectile through the goal structure; and

detecting a fourth sensor signal indicative of the sports projectile striking an object, the fourth sensor signal comprising an accelerometer signal that changes substantially from the second sensor signal.

21. The method of claim 15, comprising:

comparing changes in sampled sensor data to a predefined threshold for a predetermined number of data samples;

transmitting sensor data to the portable communication device only when the changes in the sampled sensor data exceed the predefined threshold;

storing the sampled sensor data when the changes in the sampled sensor data are less than the predefined threshold;

determining that the changes in the sampled sensor data are greater than the predetermined threshold over a time period exceeding a predetermined time period; and

storing the changes in the sampled sensor data.

22. A computer program product comprising non-transitory computer readable code means, which when executed in a processor device are configured to execute the method according to claim 15.