Monitoring of physical training events

• US 8,951,106 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2013
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Russell Brands LLC (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Information Sports Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Crowley, Michael James, King, Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): DEODHAR, OMKAR A
• Application Number:
  US13/961,482
• Publication Number:
  US 20140081436A1
• Time in Patent Office: 552 Days
• Field of Search: 463/4, 463/3
• US Class Current: 463/4
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1124 Determining motor skills
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6895 Sport equipment
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0012 Comparing movements or motion sequences with a registered reference
• 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 2024/0096 using performance related parameters for controlling electronic or video games or avatars
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0625 Emitting sound, noise or music
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0655 Tactile feedback
• 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 2220/22 Stride length
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/35 Spin
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/40 Acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/51 Force
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/53 Force of an impact, e.g. blow or punch
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/56 Pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/803 Motion sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/833 Sensors arranged on the exercise apparatus or sports implement
• 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 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 24/0084 : Exercising apparatus with means for competitions, e.g. virtual races
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 41/00 : Hollow inflatable balls
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 43/00 : Balls with special arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/002 : for football American-football dummies A63B69/34
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/0071 : for basketball
• 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: A63F 13/65 : automatically by game devices or servers from real world data, e.g. measurement in live racing competition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/812 : Ball games, e.g. soccer or baseball
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2218/12 : Classification; Matching
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06393 : Score-carding, benchmarking or key performance indicator [KPI] analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/23 : Recognition of whole body movements, e.g. for sport training
• 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 computer-implemented method is disclosed that includes instructing a human player to perform a plurality of different actions in a determined order with a physical basketball, including actions of bouncing the physical basketball, and obtaining, with one or more electronic sensors, data that characterizes motion of the physical basketball being handled by the human player who is performing the instructed actions at a location. The method also includes communicating the data from the sensors to a console videogame system that is proximate to the location, and graphically representing, in a videogame displayed on a display device, performance by the human player, the performance being affected by the captured data, the representation of performance by the human player being compared against a standard of performance.

Claims

1. An instrumented basketball comprising:

a multi-layered shell defining an exterior surface of the basketball;

one or more electronic sensors attached to the shell; and

one or more batteries attached to the shell and electrically coupled to the electronic sensors,

wherein the basketball is configured to;

detect, using the electronic sensors, that the basketball is motionless at a first time;

detect, using the electronic sensors, that the basketball is motionless at a second time after the first time;

responsive to determining that the basketball is motionless at the first time and at the second time, enter into a sleep mode;

activate from the sleep mode into an active mode when the electronic sensors sense motion of the basketball in a predetermined manner that comprises a pattern of bouncing the basketball; and

after activating into the active mode, sense, by the electronic sensors, motion of the basketball, the motion applied to the basketball after activating from the sleep mode.

2. The basketball of claim 1, wherein the one or more electronic sensors comprise (a) one or more accelerometers or (b) one or more angular rate gyroscopes.

3. The basketball of claim 1, wherein the basketball is configured to capture motion data generated by the one or more electronic sensors.

4. The basketball of claim 3, wherein the basketball further comprises a wireless transceiver attached to the shell and electrically coupled to the one or more batteries, the wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with an external computing device by powered wireless transmission, and wherein the wireless transmission includes transmitting the motion data to the external computing device.

5. The basketball of claim 4, wherein the computing device is a smart phone.

6. The basketball of claim 1, further comprising one or more inductive charging receptors attached to the shell and electrically coupled to at least one battery of the one or more batteries, the one or more inductive charging receptors configured to wirelessly receive electrical energy and to transmit the electrical energy to charge the at least one battery of the one or more batteries.

7. A method of using an instrumented basketball, the method comprising:

performing, by a test subject, a drill comprising causing the basketball to have motion, wherein the basketball comprises;

a shell defining an exterior surface of the basketball;

a sensor assembly attached to the shell, the sensor assembly comprising memory and one or more electronic sensors configured to detect the motion;

a wireless transceiver attached to the shell and electrically coupled to the sensor assembly; and

one or more batteries attached to the shell and electrically coupled to the sensor assembly;

detecting, by the one or more electronic sensors, the motion;

generating, by the one or more electronic sensors and in response to the detecting, motion data;

capturing the motion data in the memory;

wirelessly transmitting, by the wireless transceiver, the motion data from the memory to an external computing device;

entering, by the sensor assembly, a sleep mode in response to the basketball being motionless for a period of time;

activating from the sleep mode into an active mode when the one or more electronic sensors sense motion of the basketball in a predetermined manner that comprises a pattern of bouncing the basketball; and

detecting, by the one or more electronic sensors, additional motion of the basketball applied to the basketball after activating from the sleep mode.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more electronic sensors comprise (a) one or more accelerometers or (b) one or more angular rate gyroscopes.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the motion comprises bouncing the basketball.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the motion comprises tossing the basketball in the air.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the external computing device is a smart phone.

12. An athletic game ball system comprising:

an inductive charging device comprising a primary coil configured to wirelessly emit electrical energy; and

a basketball, wherein the basketball comprises;

a shell defining an exterior surface of the basketball;

a sensor assembly attached to the shell, the sensor assembly comprising memory and one or more electronic sensors configured to detect motion of the basketball;

a wireless transceiver attached to the shell and electrically coupled to the sensor assembly;

one or more batteries attached to the shell and electrically coupled to the sensor assembly; and

one or more inductive charging receptors attached to the shell and electrically coupled to at least one battery of the one or more batteries, the one or more inductive charging receptors configured to wirelessly receive the electrical energy emitted from the primary coil and to transmit the electrical energy to charge the at least one battery of the one or more batteries,

wherein the basketball is configured to enter into a sleep mode when the basketball is motionless for a period of time, and wherein the basketball is configured to activate from the sleep mode when the basketball is moved in a predetermined manner that comprises a pattern of bouncing the basketball.

13. The athletic game ball system of claim 12, wherein the basketball is configured to capture, in the memory, motion data generated by the one or more electronic sensors.

14. The athletic game ball system of claim 13, wherein the basketball is configured to wirelessly communicate with an external computing device by powered wireless transmission, and wherein the wireless transmission includes transmitting the motion data to an external computing device.

15. The athletic game ball system of claim 14, wherein the computing device is a smart phone.

16. The athletic game ball system of claim 12, wherein the one or more electronic sensors comprise (a) one or more accelerometers or (b) one or more angular rate gyroscopes.