Swing analyzing device

• US 5,233,544 A
• Filed: 10/10/1990
• Issued: 08/03/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Maruman Golf Kabushikikaisha
• Original Assignee: Maruman Golf Kabushikikaisha
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Kazutoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Harvey, Jack B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ramirez, Ellis B.
• Application Number:
  US07/595,136
• Time in Patent Office: 1,028 Days
• Field of Search: 364/410, 364/566, 273/183 R, 273/183 D, 273/186 R, 273/186 C, 273/186 A
• US Class Current: 702/141
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/40 Acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/00 Electric or electronic controls for exercising apparatus of preceding groups; Controlling or monitoring of exercises, sportive games, training or athletic performances
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/3632 Clubs or attachments on clubs, e.g. for measuring, aligning A63B69/3614 takes precedence; clubs for swinging exercises in general A63B15/00

Abstract

A swing analyzing device comprising swing practice equipment such as a golf club, wherein acceleration sensors are arranged on the shaft or on an axis of the swing practice equipment, or near the axis, and a dynamic quantity representing a movement of the shaft, such as an angular velocity, angular acceleration, and angle of the shaft, is calculated from an output of the acceleration sensors. The acceleration sensors are preferably arranged on the shaft in a spaced apart relationship so that directions of detecting acceleration substantially coincide with an axis of the shaft. A further acceleration sensor can be arranged on the shaft so that a direction of detecting acceleration forms a certain angle with an axis of said shaft.

Claims

1. A swing analyzing device comprising swing practice equipment having a shaftlike portion having a grip, acceleration sensor means arranged on said shaftlike portion or on an axis of said swing practice equipment or near said axis, and an arithmetic means for calculating a dynamic quantity representing a movement of said shaftlike portion from an output of said acceleration sensor means, wherein said acceleration sensor means comprises at least first and second acceleration sensors coaxially arranged on said shaftlike portion in a spaced apart relationship so that directions of accelerations detected thereby substantially coincide with an axis of said shaftlike portion longitudinally extending along thereof, and wherein said dynamic quantity which represents the shaftlike portion of movement is an angular acceleration of the shaftlike portion, wherein said first acceleration sensor is located at a first predetermined distance (r) from a predetermined point (o) near an end of said grip of said shaftlike portion, wherein said second acceleration sensor is located at a second predetermined distance (d) from said first acceleration sensor, and wherein said dynamic quantity is also calculated by said arithmetic means based on said first (r) and second (d) predetermined distances.

2. A swing analyzing device according to claim 1, further comprising a means for converting a dynamic quantity calculated by said arithmetic means representing a movement of said shaftlike portion into a sound, and for outputting said sound.

3. A swing analyzing device according to claim 1, wherein a means is provided for converting a dynamic quantity representing a movement of said shaftlike portion into a computer graphic and outputting said computer graphic.

4. A swing analyzing device according to claim 1, wherein a further sensor is attached to a part of a person which swings said shaftlike portion to obtain a dynamic quantity representing a movement of a body from an output of said further sensor.

5. A swing analyzing device according to claim 1, wherein said dynamic quantity calculated by said arithmetic means representing the movement includes an angular acceleration of said shaftlike portion, and wherein said arithmetic means calculates a torque which a person making a swing can bring into full play as a function of the angular acceleration to thereby measure a swing ability when a person swings while portions of the person'"'"'s body is substantially located in one position.

6. A swing analyzing device according to claim 1, wherein a further sensor is provided on said shaftlike portion for detecting a torsion of said shaftlike portion, whereby an orientation of a face of a putter can be measured during a swing thereof.

7. A swing analyzing device according to claim 1, wherein said device is combined with a swing training device having a shaftlike portion, whereby a momentum is measured in a predetermined swing plane to diagnose whether or not the swing is an effective movement.

8. A swing analyzing device according to claim 1, wherein said swing practice equipment includes a plurality of different swing practice equipments having respective shaftlike portions, wherein said arithmetic means calculates a dynamic quantity representing a movement of the shaftlike portion of each swing practice equipment to thereby permit an optimum swing practice equipment to be selected for a person making a swing from the thus obtained dynamic quantity.

9. A swing analyzing device according to claim 8, wherein said dynamic quantity calculated by said arithmetic means representing a movement includes an angular acceleration of said shaftlike portion, and wherein said arithmetic means calculates a torque which a person making a swing can bring into a full play to thereby select an optimum swing practice equipment for a person making a swing from the thus obtained dynamic quantity by comparing the calculated with a torque of the respective swing practice equipment.

10. A swing analyzing device according to claim 1, wherein said acceleration sensor means comprises at least two acceleration sensors arranged on said shaftlike portion so that directions of accelerations detected thereby substantially coincide with said axis of said shaftlike portion, and a lateral acceleration sensor arranged on said shaftlike portion so that a direction of acceleration detected thereby is at an angle to an axis of said shaftlike portion.

11. A swing analyzing device according to claim 10, wherein sand angle is a right angle.

12. A swing analyzing device according to claim 11, wherein said at least one acceleration sensor comprises first and second acceleration sensors arranged on said shaftlike portion in a spaced apart relationship so that directions of acceleration detected thereby substantially coincide with an axis of said shaftlike portion, and a lateral acceleration sensor arranged on said shaftlike portion so that a direction of acceleration detected thereby is at a right angle to an axis of said shaftlike portion, with said first acceleration sensor being located at a predetermined distance (r) from the rotational center (o) of said shaftlike portion, said second acceleration sensor being located at a predetermined distance (d) from said first acceleration sensor, and said lateral acceleration sensor being located at a predetermined distance (l) from a center of rotation of said shaftlike portion, and wherein the following equations are provided:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">a.sub.1 =rθ

.sup.2 ═

gsinθ

+α

cosφ

(1)

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">a.sub.2 =(r+d)θ

.sup.2 +gsinθ

+α

cosφ

(2)

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">a.sub.5 =-lθ

+gcosθ

+α

sinφ

(3)

where detected values of said first, second and lateral acceleration sensors are a₁, a₂, and a₅, respectively, an acceleration of a translational movement of said shaftlike portion of said swing practice equipment is α

, and an angle of the translational movement relative to said shaftlike portion is φ

, wherein g is gravitational acceleration, and wherein said arithmetic means calculates an angular velocity of said shaftlike portion of said swing practice equipment, an angular acceleration and an angle of the translational movement and are obtained from the relationships represented by said equations.