AU7857898A - Speedball counter - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE

SPECIFICATION

STANDARD

PATENT

r o Invention Title: SPEEDBALL

COUNTER

Applicant: JIM BRADLEY SPEEDBALL CO. (AUSTRALIA)

PTY.

LTD.

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: VS

'I,

'I:i C.VOTM -aAR'WEnEC*PlC'tDOC 1A SPEEDBALL COUNTER Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to fitness equipment, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for counting punches of a speedball.

Background of the Invention There has been much interest in recent years in fitness and health. A growing number of people are now realising the benefits to be gained from physical exercise, especially for the cardiovascular system. Boxing training techniques are gaining popularity as a form of physical exercise and, in particular, the use of speedballs, or punching balls as they are known in some countries, is considered an excellent form of physical exercise.

As in other forms of training, most people like to have a measure by which their progress may be assessed. In speedball training the number of punches of the ball within a given time period is such a measure.

One prior art speedball counter, disclosed in Australian Patent Application 16289/95, includes a sensing device placed within the swivel of a speedball unit.

A pulse is generated and sent to an electronic counter when an element within the swivel is in a particular position. Two problems exist with this device. Firstly, the swivel of the speedball unit must be specially manufactured to incorporate the sensing device. The device cannot be fitted to existing speedballs without changing the swivel. Secondly, the device has in practice been found to be inaccurate because it does not reliably sense relevant movement of the ball.

jf 25 There is therefore a need for means by which the number of punches of a ball of a speedball unit can be accurately detected, counted and displayed.

Summary of the Invention The present invention is based on sensing movement or position of the ball itself, as opposed to movement or position of an element within the swivel.

In one aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for counting EPC-wwiwinUBWEspta.Teneococ, 2 punches of a ball of a speedball unit, the ball being suspended by a swivel from a rebound board for movement within an arc of travel when the ball is punched, the apparatus including: sensing means for detecting presence of at least a part of the ball at a predetermined position within said arc of travel; counting means, responsive to said sensing means, for producing a cumulative count corresponding to punches of said ball; and display means for displaying said count.

The sensing means may detect presence of the ball at any predetermined position within an arc of travel of the ball. That predetermined position may be adjacent to or in contact with the rebound board, or it may be remote from the rebound board. The sensing means may detect physical presence of the ball or it may detect the effect of an impact of the ball with the rebound board. The predetermined position may be any position in which the ball contacts the rebound board or it may be a selected range of contact positions.

In one embodiment the sensing means includes: a light source for emitting a beam of light; a light detector, responsive to said beam of light; said source and detector being mountable relative to said rebound board such that said beam is broken by said ball when the ball is in the predetermined position; and output means, connected to said light detector, for providing an indication that the ball is in the predetermined position. In such an embodiment the counting means is responsive to the indication provided by the output means d 25 In another embodiment the sensing means may include a pressure sensitive pad secured to the rebound board such that the ball strikes the pad when in the or one of the predetermined positions, thereby producing an indication to be counted.

30Alternatively, the sensing means may be an impact or vibration sensor fixed to the rebound board in a suitable position to give a reliable indication when the ball strikes the board. In such an embodiment the position of the sensor may EP VffNE sfzn"%L1'8.W OW 3 be chosen such that a one-to-one correspondence exists between the number of punches of the ball and the number of strikes of the rebound board. Alternatively, every occurrence of the ball striking the board may be detected such that a threeto-one correspondence exists. A suitable division may then be applied to produce and display a count of the number of punches of the ball.

A further, although similar, alternative may be to use an acoustic device which detects the ball striking the rebound board. Various other sensing means may be employed to detect presence of the ball at a predetermined position within an arc of travel of the ball.

Speedball units are generally mounted near a wall and may be considered to have a "front" facing the boxer and a "rear" towards the wall. The usual arc of travel of the ball is thus substantially orientated between the front and rear of the speedball unit and, for the purposes of the present disclosure, may be called the S"primary arc of travel".

In the preferred embodiment employing a light source and detector the beam of light is preferably arranged to project laterally with respect to the primary arc of travel. In one embodiment the beam of light projects across the primary arc of travel at a location towards the front of the speedball unit, ie. the side closest to the boxer. In use, the ball is present in this position only once for each punch and a one-to-one correspondence thus exists between detections and punches.

Preferably the beam of light extends parallel to the rebound board and may lie adjacent a lower surface of the board. The light source and light detector may be mounted to the rebound board, preferably at positions outside of a circular or annular locus in which the ball contacts the rebound board, so that they are not hit by the ball.

In a preferred embodiment an infra red light source and detector are used, however other sources and detectors of electromagnetic radiation may be used.

For example, visible light may also be used.

i; Preferably the light source emits a pulsed beam of light and the light detector is responsive to the pulsed beam of light. The pulsed beam of light may be modulated by a substantially square wave pulse train, to produce ball 4 detection pulses which are transmitted by the light source and received by the light detector. The output means may produce an indication of a valid detection of the ball when a predetermined number of the ball detection pulses are transmitted by the light source and are not received by the light detector. In this way, spurious signals may be filtered out. In one embodiment the pulsed beam of light has a frequency of about 38 kHz and the pulse train has a frequency of about 1600 Hz.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a speedball unit including: a rebound board; a ball, suspended from the rebound board by a multidirectional swivel such that the ball is movable within an arc of travel when punched; sensing means for detecting presence of at least a part of the ball at a predetermined position within said arc of travel; counting means, responsive to said sensing means, for producing a cumulative count corresponding to punches of said ball; and display means for displaying said count.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of counting punches of a ball of a speedball unit, the ball being suspended by a swivel from a rebound board for movement within an arc of travel when the ball is punched, the method including the steps of: detecting presence of at least a part of the ball at a predetermined position within said arc of travel; counting each said presence and producing a cumulative count corresponding to punches of said ball; and displaying said count.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by j way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other Sembodiments of the invention are possible, and consequently the particularity of 30 the drawings and the following detailed description are not to be understood as i superseding the generality of the preceding description of the invention.

7;i I i Brief Description of the Drawings In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front view of a preferred embodiment of the speedball counter of the invention fitted to a speedball unit; Figure 2 is a side view of the speedball counter and speedball unit of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of the speedball counter and speedball unit of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram of the speedball counter of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a timing diagram for the light source and light detection of the speedball counter of Figure 1; Detail d Description of the Preferred Embodiment Referring firstly to Figures 1-3, there is shown a speedball unit 10 including a ball 12 suspended from a rebound board 14 by a multidirectional swivel 16. For simplicity in the drawings the swivel 16 is shown as being bidirectional only, but in c practice it is multidirectional and allows the ball to be punched in any direction from the suspension point.

The speedball unit 10 would generally be mounted near a wall such that a boxer using the unit 10 would be facing the wall. The unit 10 may thus be considered to have a "front" facing the boxer, as shown in Figure 1, and a "rear" towards the wall. When punched by the boxer, the ball 12 would usually follow an arc of travel substantially oriented between the front and rear of the speedball unit and this arc may be considered to be the primary arc of travel 18 (see Figure It will be appreciated however that the ball 12 may follow many different arcs of travel around the swivel 16, together forming a segment of a sphere extending below the rebound board 14.

Fitted to the speedball unit 10 is a speedball counter 20 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The speedball counter 20 includes 30 sensing means 22 for detecting presence of at least a part of the ball 12 at a a predetermined position 24 within, for example, the primary arc of travel 18. The z -wwamuafsfSeEt 6 sensing means 22 may be positioned to detect the ball within any or several arcs of travel. The speedball counter 20 also includes counting means 26, responsive to the sensing means 22, for producing a cumulative count corresponding to punches of the ball 12. The count is displayed to the boxer on display means 28.

In the embodiment shown, the sensing means 22 includes a light source in the form of an infra red (IR) light transmitter, for emitting a beam of light 32 and includes a light detector 34, in the form of an IR light receiver, responsive to the beam of light 32. The transmitter 30 and receiver 34 are adapted for mounting on the lower surface of the rebound board 14 such that the IR beam 32 is broken when the ball 12 is in the predetermined position 24.

As can be best seen in Figure 3 the IR beam 32 projects laterally with respect to the primary arc of travel 18 and is located at a position towards the front of the speedball unit. In use, the ball is present in this position only once for each punch and a one-to-one correspondence thus exists between detections and punches. I In Figure 2 the ball 12 is shown at the predetermined position 24 breaking the IR beam 32. It will be appreciated that the IR transmitter 30 and receiver 34, and hence the beam 32, may be moved horizontally towards or away from the swivel 16 and still detect a part of the ball 12. Beyond certain positions of the IR I. 20 beam 32, however, no part of the ball 12 will break the beam.

-For any particular arc of travel of the ball 12 there thus exists inner and S outer limits within which the ball 12 will be detectable by an IR beam. When considering all possible arcs of travel of the ball 12 it can be seen that these detection limits together form an annular detection zone 36, defined by an inner circular limit 38 and outer circular limit 40, as shown figure 3. The radial position of these limits 38,40 depends upon the vertical position of the IR beam 32 relative to the rebound board 14.

From a consideration of figure 3 it can be seen that the IR beam 32 S| positioned as shown will detect the ball 12 when it is in the predetermined position 24 within the primary arc of travel 18 or in similar positions 42, 44 within a range of arcs 46, 48 spaced about the primary arc 18. This allows the boxer to ~iHiaifaemTfCW 7 punch the ball 12 in a range of directions about the forward direction whilst still sensing relevant movement of the ball 12 and maintaining an accurate count of punches made.

Referring now to figure 4 there is shown a schematic block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the speedball counter 20. Similar reference numerals are used in figure 4 as used in figures 1-3 to designate corresponding parts previously described. This embodiment uses a general purpose microcontroller such as a PIC16C74 EPROM-based 8-Bit CMOS Microcontroller produced by Microchip Technology Inc. The microcontroller includes, inter alia, a RISC-like CPU, EPROM program memory, SRAM general purpose registers, interrupt capability, high current outputs to directly drive LED displays and a PWM output.

The speedball counter 20 includes sensing means 22, counting means embodied within the software being executed by the microcontroller 50 and display means 28.

The sensing means 22 includes an IR transmitter 30, IR receiver 34 and output means, implemented within the microcontroller 50, for providing an indication of a valid detection when the ball 12 breaks the IR beam 32.

The IR transmitter 30 is a commonly available IR light emitting diode (LED) which is driven by a PWM signal directly from the microcontroller In one embodiment the IR receiver 34 is an IS1U60 Infra Red Sensor produced by Sharp Corporation. This sensor consists of an IR light detecting element and a signal processing circuit integrated onto a single chip. It is a cheap and readily available component, often used for wireless data communications in remote control applications such as for televisions, video recorders, etc. The IS1U60 is tuned to a center frequency of 38 kHz to help distinguish between signals to be received and spurious IR light from foreign sources such as sunlight.

The counting means is implemented in software in the microcontroller Its function is to count each valid detection of the ball 12 breaking the IR beam 32 and to produce a cummulative count corresponding to punches of the ball 12.

S-There are many different ways this function could be implemented within the 7TI B'aEFMMHHr WSeS =3VfDC 8 Ssoftware and it is considered well within the capability of any competent programmer to write suitable code to achieve this function.

The display means 28 is a four digit LED or LCD display directly connected to the microcontroller 50 for displaying the cumulative count of punches to the boxer.

The speedball counter 20 also includes input push buttons PB1-PB3 for setting the boxing time period, a buzzer 52 for signalling the end of the boxing period, DIP switches 54 for setting operational variables, and a power supply regulator 56 for supplying power to the various components.

Figure 5 shows a timing diagram for the sensing means 22. The microcontroller 50 drives the IR transmitter 30 to produce an IR signal containing 38 kHz pulses modulated by a 1600 Hz square wave pulse train. This IR signal 60 is detected by the IR receiver 34, which produces a synchronised Sinverted output signal 62 corresponding to the 1600 Hz pulse train. In other words, the receiver 34 produces a low output state when the 38 kHz IR signal is present and a high output state when the 38 kHz IR signal is absent.

SWhen the ball 12 of the speedball unit 10 blocks the IR beam 32 the %1 transmitted 38 kHz pulses are not received at the receiver 34. The output means, implemented within the microcontroller 50, is able to determine that a pulse has been missed by checking for a change of state of the receiver output, from high to low, a short period after each pulse is transmitted. If two or more pulses in succession are not received the output means takes this to indicate that the ball 12 is blocking the IR beam 32. It accordingly indicates a valid detection, by setting a flag, to tell the counting means to increment the cumulative count of punches.

The output means determines the number of pulses that have been missed by incrementing a pulse counter (not the punch count) each time it checks Sfor and does not receive the expected change of state. When a pulse is received, the pulse counter is reset.

This filtering mechanism provides a reliable indication of each occurrence of the ball 12 blocking the IR beam 32. For example, if a spurious IR signal from 9 an unrelated source (such as an IR transmitter of an adjacent speedball counter) causes the output signal 62 to change to a low state at some arbitrary point in time, that change will generally be ignored because it is not synchronised with the known transmitted signal 60. If by chance the change happens to correspond in time with a transmitted pulse it will increment the pulse counter, but it is extremely unlikely that a second similar coincidence will occur. The number of pulses considered by the filtering mechanism may be increased to further reduce the possibility of false detections.

Similarly, the 38 kHz signal and 1600 Hz pulse train may be varied, according to the particular hardware being used. For example, in a basic form of the sensing means 22 the transmitted signal 60 could be a pulsed DC signal.

The frequency of those pulses needs to be high enough to ensure at least one pulse occurs in the time period in which the ball 12 blocks the beam 32.

Preferably, at least two or more pulses should occur within that period so that a 15 succession of pulses must be absent before a valid detection is determined.

In use, a boxer using the speedball 10 can set a boxing time period on the digital display 28 of the speedball counter 20 by using the push buttons PB1-PB3.

In one embodiment the period may be infinitely variable, whilst in other embodiments predetermined periods may be selectable. For example, periods of 90 seconds, 3 minutes and infinite continuous) may be selected. Any suitable number and type of inputs to the counting means may be provided to S: allow such selection.

Once the time period is set the speedball counter waits in an idle state until the first valid punch is detected. From that time, it counts and may display each 25 punch on the digital display. At the end of the set boxing period the counter sounds the buzzer 52 and stops counting. The final count is then displayed.

A microcontroller is used in the preferred embodiment of the speedball counter 20 for reasons of cost effectiveness and flexibility. It would be clear r however to a person skilled in the art that the invention may be implemented in A 30 many different ways. For example, hard wired logic could equally be used to provide the functions performed by the microcontroller 50 in the preferred =afosii~paT Cio embodiment.

Similarly, in a microcontroller embodiment, it would be clear to a person skilled in the art that the software for the sensing means, the counting means and other features described above may be written in many different ways. In a preferred embodiment, the software uses a multiple interrupt driven process within a multitasking time sliced environment. However, this is only one way of programming the microcontroller and other methods may be used. It is considered that any competent programmer could write suitable software to achieve the described functions and it is for this reason that further detail is considered unnecessary.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention is described herein in detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention.

t

Claims (27)

1. An apparatus for counting punches of a ball of a speedball unit, the ball being suspended by a swivel from a rebound board for movement within an arc of travel when the ball is punched, the apparatus including: sensing means for detecting presence of at least a part of the ball at a predetermined position within said arc of travel; counting means, responsive to said sensing means, for producing a cumulative count corresponding to punches of said ball; and display means for displaying said count. I

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the predetermined position is adjacent the rebound board.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2 wherein the ball is suspended for movement within a plurality of arcs of travel and said sensing means is adapted to detect •presence of at least a part of the ball at corresponding predetermined positions within a range of said arcs of travel. 20

4. The apparatus of any one of the preceding claims wherein the sensing means includes: a light source for emitting a beam of light; i a light detector, responsive to said beam of light; said source and detector being mountable relative to said rebound board such that said beam is broken by said ball when the ball is in the predetermined position; and output means, connected to said light detector, for providing an indication that the ball is in the predetermined position, and S, wherein the counting means is responsive to the indication provided by the 3 output means.

P' 12 The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the light source and light detector are adapted for mounting to the rebound board such that the beam of light extends parallel to the rebound board, adjacent a lower surface thereof.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 or 5 wherein the light source and light detector employ infrared light.

7. The apparatus of any one of claims 4 to 6 wherein the light source emits a pulsed beam of light and the light detector is responsive to the pulsed beam of light. V.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the pulsed beam of light is modulated by .a substantially square wave pulse train, to produce ball detection pulses which are transmitted by the light source and received by the light detector.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said output means produces said indication when a predetermined number of the ball detection pulses are otransmitted by the light source and are not received by the light detector. 20

10. The apparatus of claim 8 or 9 wherein the pulsed beam of light has a frequency of about 38 kHz and the pulse train has a frequency of about 1600 Hz. S11. A speedball unit including: a rebound board; a ball, suspended from the rebound board by a multidirectional swivel such that the ball is movable within an arc of travel when punched; sensing means for detecting presence of at least a part of the ball at a predetermined position within said arc of travel; I counting means, responsive to said sensing means, for producing a 30 cumulative count corresponding to punches of said ball; and display means for displaying said count.

I 13

12. The speedball unit of claim 11 wherein the predetermined position is adjacent the rebound board.

13. The speedball unit of claim 11 or 12 wherein the ball is suspended for movement within a plurality of arcs of travel and said sensing means detects presence of at least a part of the ball at corresponding predetermined positions within a range of said arcs of travel.

14. The speedball unit of any one of claims 11 to 13 wherein the sensing means includes: a light source for emitting a beam of light; i a light detector, responsive to said beam of light; said source and detector being mounted relative to said rebound board such that said beam is broken by said ball when the ball is in the predetermined position; and output means, connected to said light detector, for providing an indication that the ball is in the predetermined position, and wherein the counting means is responsive to the indication provided by the S, output means.

15. The speedball unit of claim 14 wherein the beam of light is arranged to project laterally with respect to a primary arc of travel of the ball, the primary arc p of travel being oriented between a front and rear of the speedball unit.

16. The speedball unit of claim 15 wherein the beam of light projects across the primary arc of travel at a location towards the front of the speedball unit.

17. The speedball unit of any one of claims 14 to 16 wherein the beam of light extends parallel to the rebound board, adjacent a lower surface of the board. 1. -iTyw

18. The speedball unit of any one of claims 14 to 17 wherein the light source I a N F w I ECWWIO~i EHBSPCm lRIp-nmDOC and light detector are mounted to the rebound board.

19. The speedball unit of any one of claims 14 to 18 wherein the light source and light detector employ infrared light.

The speedball unit of any one of claims 14 to 19 wherein the light source emits a pulsed beam of light and the light detector is responsive to the pulsed beam of light.

21. The speedball unit of claim 20 wherein the pulsed beam of light is modulated by a substantially square wave pulse train, to produce ball detection pulses which are transmitted by the light source and received by the light S detector.

22. The speedball unit of claim 21 wherein said output means produces said S indication when a predetermined number of the ball detection pulses are S'transmitted by the light source and are not received by the light detector.

S23. The speedball unit of claim 21 or 22 wherein the pulsed beam of light has a frequency of about 38 kHz and the pulse train has a frequency of about 1600 Hz.

24. A method of counting punches of a ball of a speedball unit, the ball being suspended by a swivel from a rebound board for movement within an arc of travel when the ball is punched, the method including the steps of: detecting presence of at least a part of the ball at a predetermined position within said arc of travel; counting each said presence and producing a cumulative count corresponding to punches of said ball; and S 30 displaying said count.

EP M M *aO&/WE-- +f.WWBCJHPaU elX I An apparatus for counting punches of a ball of a speedball unit substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

26. A speedball unit substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

27. A method of counting punches of a ball of a speedball unit substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. i" I r r i o r r sc c DATED: 30 July, 1998 PHILLPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK Attorneys for: JIM BRADLEY SPEEDBALL CO. (AUSTRALIA) PTY. LTD. Dki41ht 1 It I i; jj ii r P- i: i- 1 r EP C;MWCR.--TEC-TSPES DD 0C