KR20120018097A - Golf training devices - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A golf training apparatus is provided to show the direction of a club and the impact position of the club with a ball. CONSTITUTION: A golf training apparatus comprises a golf club head(22), a shaft(24), a grip area(26), and a circuit. The shaft is combined with the golf club head. The grip area is combined with the shaft. A light emission region on the golf club head is partly and parallelly arranged against the plane of the golf club head. The light emission region is illuminated by an optical fiber line. The optical fiber line is illuminated by a light source. The visual display of the center of the light emission region locates in the center of the plane of the golf club head.

Description

Golf Training Devices

The present invention relates to a golf training device.

In a golf game, play for each hole begins by teeing off each player from the starting position or teeing ground for each hole, defined by two tee markers. do. In a typical tee shot, the player wants to hit the ball as far as possible, while at the same time controlling the ball's trajectory to land the ball and ultimately stop it in the best position for the second shot or stroke. Hitting the ball according to both force and control takes a lot of practice, but even the professional player doesn't always achieve the desired results.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a golf training apparatus.

1A is a view of a golf driver embodying an embodiment of the invention,
1B is a view of the head of the golf driver of FIG. 1, taken at an enlarged scale along line 1B;
1C is a view of a switch on the shaft of the golf driver of FIG. 1, taken on an enlarged scale along line 1C;
1D is a view of the upper end of the shaft of the golf driver of FIG. 1, taken at an enlarged scale along line 1C;
2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a control system for the golf driver of FIG. 1A;
FIG. 3 illustrates strobing of an LED along the club head approach, hitting and continuing the ball in the center of the aligned driver head; FIG.
4 illustrates strobing of the LEDs along the club head approach, hitting and continuing the ball outside the center of the misaligned driver head;
5 is a view for explaining another embodiment of the present invention mounted on a driver;
6 is a block diagram for an LED brightness setting process;
7 is an exemplary flowchart for operation of an embodiment of the present invention,
8 illustrates the regeneration of a previous swing of a driver using data stored during a previous swing according to the present invention.

The present invention provides a practice club for practicing driving from a tee while providing a visual indication of the direction of the face of the golf club when an impact of the lesson occurs, and provides a swing of the player. It can be used to record information that can be analyzed by playback for effective regeneration. Such training aids can be used to actually hit the ball on the tee, as in a typical race or driving range, and alternatively, when the ball is not present for reasons to be seen later, it is preferable to image the ball on the ground. It can be used in a relatively limited place, such as an individual yard, to practice swings.

1A shows an embodiment of a golf training apparatus according to the present invention. In particular, golf club 20 is presented. Clubs of this type are generally composed of a lower portion 22, shaft 24, and grip area 26 on top of shaft 24, commonly referred to as a driver, and generally referred to as the head of the club. These parts of the club are typical and ideally the practice drivers according to the invention are intentionally designed to have the weight and balance of a conventional prior art driver. However, the driver shown in FIG. 1A differs from conventional drivers for various reasons. The head 22 shown in enlarged size in FIG. 1B includes thirteen light emitting diodes (LEDs) or fiber optic illumination sources parallel to the face of the club head and aligned in line behind the face of the club head. And inclined so as to be substantially parallel to the shaft 24 of the club. The three LEDs 30 in the center are preferably of one color, such as red, and the LEDs 28 on both sides are of different color, such as blue. This color difference simply allows easier identification of the location of the center of the row of LEDs and also generally represents the center of the face of the club. In contrast, the “center” LED will be slightly outside the center of the head to indicate the best point to make contact with the golf ball for the longest distance, which is the head of the head farthest from the club's shaft from the player's wrist movement. Because of the higher speed of the part.

In addition, two triaxial accelerometers or G-sensors are included in the club head 22, in particular in the area 32 and the area 34. In addition, three three-axis G-sensors are present in the club shaft 24, generally in approximately the grip region or in the region 36 of the shaft adjacent to the grip region. In one embodiment, this tri-axis accelerometer is a compact solid state tri-axis accelerometer with the x axes parallel, the y axes parallel, and the Z axes parallel orientated within all three G sensors. . By way of example, the Z axes can all be parallel to the shaft 24 and the y axes can all be parallel to the face of the club. In addition, a reset switch, a strobe rate switch, and a brightness switch as shown in FIG. 1C may be used at any convenient position on the hand grip area 26 that does not interfere with the user's grip. It is provided in the grip area 26. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the ON / OFF switch, and the USB connector are present somewhere in the grip area, such as the upper end of the club. Further, although not shown in FIG. 1A, there are batteries and electronics in the hand grip area 26, which are schematically shown in FIG. 2.

2 is a block diagram of an electronic device in the golf club or driver 20 of FIGS. 1A-1D. G sensors 32 and 34 and 13 LEDs are of course present on the club's head 22 or in the club's head 22, with the G sensor 36 attached to the upper portion of the club's shaft 24. Or in a control module in the upper portion of the shaft 24 of the club. A microprocessor powered from the battery via the ON / OFF switch is present in the hand grip region 26 or in a module connected to the shaft around the hand grip region. The microprocessor is also coupled to receive a reset switch signal when the reset switch (FIG. 1C) is pressed to begin recording the swing, as will be described later. In addition, a strobe ratio switch, brightness switch, head speed and LCD display to display the speaker, functions to be described later, may be provided.

One of the functions of the microprocessor is to repeatedly pulse and strobe all the LEDs simultaneously during the swing of the golf club. This is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In general, when a person teees off, the driver's head moves so fast that the player cannot see how the club's head contacts the ball. However, by flashing or pulsing the LED according to the invention, the user obtains a clear visual image of the direction of the head of the club when the head of the club approaches and contacts the ball, furthermore, on the head. You can see not only where the ball is in contact, but also at least the beginning of the club head's normal movement and follow through of the swing as the club head approaches the ball. By way of example, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the pulsing of an LED as the head of club 20 approaches ball 38. The pulsing of the LED is typically at a rate according to the club head's speed, e.g. every one of the heads or every two inches of operation, so that an adequate observation of the head direction is provided when the ball is in contact, even if the LED does not necessarily pulse at the moment of impact. As will be done. In this regard, the ball 38 may be a real golf ball, or alternatively it may simply be an image of the ball on the ground in front of the user of the present invention for practice purposes. Alternatively, of course, the G-sensor in the head of the club can be used to operate the LED at the point of impact, because it provides a visual image not only at the point of impact but also at the impact of the lesson and after the impact of the lesson. It is desirable to pulse the above-described LEDs for at least that portion.

In Figure 3 the flashing of the center diode is indicated by a segment of thicker lines, and in one embodiment of the invention the central LED is for example three red LEDs in contrast to the blue LEDs for five LEDs on each side of the center LED. It's just a different color like. As shown in FIG. 3, the golf club head is approached straight to the ball 38 and contacts the ball at the center of the head. However, in FIG. 4 the head of the club is accidentally turned so that the ball is contacted by the head too close to the club shaft 24. The arrow on the ball 38 in each figure indicates the direction in which the ball will travel. In general, the duty cycle of flashing or strobing of the LED will be substantially less than 50%, such as 5-15%. In practice, the LED is strobe with the strobe ratio adjusted as desired by the strobe ratio switch of FIGS. 1C and 2. This avoids disturbing the user's gaze in the direction of the club head during that portion of the swing. It also saves battery energy and allows for strong pulsing of the LEDs so that they can be easily seen even in direct sunlight.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the outputs of the G sensors 32 and 34 can be integrated to determine the speed of the club head, which can be displayed through a corresponding illumination or LCD display of eleven LEDs. By way of example, the illumination of the central LED may be used to indicate a head speed of 95 mph, and the illumination of any other LED may be used to indicate a speed higher or lower than 95 mph according to a predetermined scale. have. The outputs of the G sensors 32, 34, and 36 may also be dually integrated to determine the actual trajectory (speed and position) of the club. Thus, during the swing of the club, the output of the G sensor is stored in memory and downloaded to the computer for example by WiFi or via the USB port for analysis and presentation (display) by eg animation regenerating the swing of the golf club. Can be. The separation of the G sensors 32 and 34 on the club's head also permits the measurement of the speed difference between the two parts of the club's head, typically by rotation of the head about the axis of the shaft 24. G-sensor 36 provides an indication of whether grip area 26 is properly aligned at the time of impact or is behind or ahead of where it should be at that time.

Data collection for a swing may include, for example, detecting sudden high acceleration or taking data continuously but even all data after a period of time that is at least equal to the duration of the relatively slow swing and all but just before the sudden acceleration begins. It may be disclosed in various ways, such as discarding. Of course, one of the features of the present invention is preferred because of its simplicity, ease of use, natural feel, and less of the distraction factor when actually turning off (in practice or by simulation), along with the flexibility and utility of the training aids. If not, data collection can be initiated by a reset switch that is activated by the user.

The memory associated with the microprocessor preferably includes a nonvolatile memory such as flash memory so that data can be retained even when the ON / OFF switch is turned off. Thus, ON / OFF is only used to conserve battery power when the training aid is not being used. On the other hand, the reset switch is used to start recording data in the starting position until the swing is completed. This information may be recorded on a one time basis until the reset switch is activated again. The rate at which the LED flashes during the swing can be updated by the microprocessor using information from one or more past swings. If this is done, the strobe switch may be removed since the pulse rate will be automatically and effectively reset after the first swing. In this regard, again, the "one size fits all" approach is generally golfing, although it makes the training device simple and easy to use and avoids distractions from the normal tee off swing. Manual adjustment may be provided to provide the LED pulse rate in terms of the distance between the pulses during club movement. If desired, this type of adjustment may be made in software via a USB port or a WiFi link (or whatever interface is used) instead of the strobe ratio switch of FIG. 1C, so that the physical appearance, grip, balance, and use of the driver may vary. It can provide flexibility while maintaining "normalness".

Referring now to FIG. 5, another embodiment of the present invention is presented. This example is not a complete club, but an after-market type product that users can buy and attach to their favorite drivers without making any permanent changes, with minimal changes to the club's weight and balance. It is intended to be released. In particular, this embodiment utilizes a module 40 that is secured on the shaft 24 of the club with an optical fiber connection 42 that can be cut into the required length and fitted into the module 40. The other end of the optical fiber line has a sideglow type strip 44 at the end that the user has fixed to the head 22 of the club parallel to its face. The side glow type optical fiber member 44 and the optical fiber cable 42 may be provided with adhesive backings to self-fix to the head 22 and shaft 24 of the club. As part of this assembly, G sensors 46 and 48 may be provided and electrically connected to module 40 with a third G sensor in module 40. The use of the G-sensor in this embodiment is optional because strobing of the sideglow type fiber optic cable strips by the LEDs within the module provides a very useful training aid in itself. Further, as another embodiment, a module such as the module 40 of the embodiment of FIG. 5 may be used together with the embodiment of FIGS. 1A-1D rather than building control electronics or the like inside the club.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a block diagram of an initialization sequence that can be used in an embodiment of the present invention is shown. In this sequence, the brightness level of the LED strobe is set to the default brightness level upon initialization (by turning ON / OFF on). If the brightness level switch (Fig. 5) is toggled, it is set to the next higher brightness level. If the switch is toggled again, it is set to a higher brightness level. And if the switch is toggled again, the brightness level goes from the brightest level to the dimest level, if the switch is toggled again the brightness goes to a higher level, if toggled again it increases to the default brightness, from which the sequence Can be repeated. The brightness level is set when the switch toggles off.

7 is an exemplary flowchart for operation of one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, sound is included, the main purpose of which is to attract and retain young people (children) in sports, and the sound may also be useful as an indication of proper battery power and as an indication of user input being received and processed. Can be. In any event, as shown in FIG. 7, a basic sound is made to indicate that the battery is in proper condition when the ON / OFF switch is turned on. The default strobe frequency is then set. Then, if the club is held at its origin (mainly in the normal tin off position with the club head just behind the ball), or if the reset switch is pulsed on, a new pile is opened and the three G sensors The initial position is recorded. And, as the club moves back, the outputs of the three G sensors are repeatedly detected and recorded, which continues when the club moves forward (stroke starts). Then, when the club passes the origin (only if a simulated ball is used) or when the impact high G signal is sensed, there is an impact of the ball. If the club moves slowly and stays in the same general position for a while, recording of the outputs of the three G sensors is stopped. And, the maximum speed based on the output of G sensor number 2 (G sensor on the head adjacent to the shaft) is calculated by the double integration of acceleration detected through the stroke. In addition, the differential speed detected by the two G sensors on the club head is similarly calculated. This differential speed gives an indication of the club user's fast-moving movement, and if properly timed and performed, such wrist movement provides longer speed to the tee shot by providing increased speed relative to the face of the club at impact of the lesson. Can be added. The speed and differential speed are then displayed on the LCD display, the file is closed, and a new file is opened when the club returns to the turn on or home position of the reset switch. Thus, information is recorded for each swing of the club and stored in memory typically flash memory, which is via a USB connection or a WiFi connection for simulation of strokes in a 2D or 3D model as shown in FIG. Can be downloaded together.

To keep children interested, sounds can be used in a variety of ways. For example, some sounds may be generated each time the club moves, such as Star Wars type sounds. In addition, sounds can be generated or reproduced through the speaker at impact of the ball and club head, and these sounds can be selected randomly or based on where the club head hits the ball, popping sounds, smashing ( It can include smashing sounds, moans, and interesting sounds that attract attention, such as ouch.

Thus, the present invention has a plurality of aspects, which can be performed alone or in various combinations or sub-combinations as desired. While some preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed and described herein for purposes of illustration and not limitation, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the manner and details without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Will be understood.

Claims (27)

A golf club head;
A shaft coupled to the golf club head; And
And a grip region coupled to the shaft;
The light emitting area on the golf club head is disposed at least partially linearly parallel to the face of the golf club head;
A golf club, wherein the golf club has a circuit that causes the light emitting area to flash at a predetermined rate during the swing of the golf club.
The method of claim 1,
Wherein the luminous area on the golf club head disposed at least partially parallel to the face of the golf club head is configured to provide a visual indication of the center of the luminous area.
The method of claim 2,
And a visual indication of the center of the luminous area is provided by at least one luminous area of a different color from the rest of the luminous area.
The method of claim 2,
A golf club, characterized in that the visual indication of the center of the luminous area is provided by at least one luminous area which is not in the line defined by the other luminous area.
The method of claim 2,
A golf club, wherein the visual indication of the center of the luminous area is at the center of the face of the golf club head.
The method of claim 2,
A golf club, characterized in that the visual indication in the center of the luminous area is outside of the center of the head indicating the best point to make contact with the golf ball for the longest distance.
The method of claim 1,
A golf club, wherein the light emitting area is a light emitting diode.
The method of claim 1,
And the light emitting area is illuminated by the optical fiber line with respect to the light emitting area, and the optical fiber line is illuminated by the light source in the grip area.
The method of claim 1,
And the circuit for causing the light emitting area to flash at a predetermined rate during the swing of the golf club is a permanent part of the golf club.
The method of claim 1,
And the circuit for causing the light emitting area to flash at a predetermined rate during the swing of the golf club is an attachment to the golf club.
The method of claim 1,
A circuit for causing the light emitting area to flash at a predetermined rate during the swing of the golf club, the circuit including a circuit for adjusting the rate of flashing.
The method of claim 1,
And a circuit for causing the light emitting area to flash at a predetermined rate during the swing of the golf club, the circuit including a circuit for adjusting the brightness of the flash.
The method of claim 1,
A golf club further comprising two three-axis accelerometers located in a space away from the golf club head area.
The method of claim 13,
Wherein the circuit integrates the output of the three-axis accelerometer to acquire and display the speed of the golf club head during the golf club swing.
The method of claim 14,
Wherein the circuit comprises a circuit for adjusting the rate of flashing based on at least one previous swing of the golf club.
The method of claim 13,
A golf club, characterized in that a signal in response to the difference in the integration of the output of the three-axis accelerometer in the impact of the ball is displayed as an indication of the wrist motion of the user of the golf club.
The method of claim 13,
And further comprising a speaker, wherein the circuit and the speaker generate noise in response to movement of the golf club.
The method of claim 13,
Further comprising a speaker, wherein the circuit and the speaker generate noise responsive to the difference in acceleration sensed by the two triaxial accelerometers to provide an audible indication of the position at which the golf club head and ball impact. Golf clubs.
The method of claim 13,
A golf club, wherein the display comprises an LCD display.
The method of claim 13,
A golf club, characterized in that the display comprises a row of light emitting diodes.
The method of claim 13,
And further comprising a third three-axis accelerometer positioned adjacent to the grip region, wherein the circuit comprises a memory, each axis of the three three-axis accelerometers parallel to each other, and the memory for golf for subsequent regeneration of the swing. A golf club characterized by storing the output of three triaxial accelerometers during the swing of the club.
The method of claim 21,
The golf club comprises a device for downloading information stored in the memory for regeneration of the swing of the golf club.
The method of claim 22,
A golf club, characterized in that the device for downloading information stored in the memory has a USB connection.
The method of claim 22,
Golf club, characterized in that the device for downloading information stored in the memory has a wireless connection.
The method of claim 13,
A golf club wherein three three-axis accelerometers are solid state accelerometers.
The method of claim 1,
A golf club, wherein the golf club head is a golf club driver head.
The method of claim 1,
A golf club characterized by a duty cycle of flashing in the range of 5% to 15%.

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