CN1845772A

CN1845772A - Method and apparatus to locate lost golf balls

Info

Publication number: CN1845772A
Application number: CNA200480025251XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 迈克尔·拉姆塞伊
Original assignee: GOLFSPEED INTERNAT Ltd
Current assignee: GOLFSPEED INTERNAT Ltd
Priority date: 2003-08-05
Filing date: 2004-02-13
Publication date: 2006-10-11
Also published as: JP2007501042A; DE602004005716T2; ES2285428T3; ATE358515T1; ZA200600965B; EP1651317A1; PT1651317E; US20060281584A1; AU2004264697A1; WO2005016463A1; EP1651317B1; DE602004005716D1

Abstract

A method is disclosed that assists a golf player in finding golf balls that have been lost. The method relies on the presence of materials in the golf ball that emit light at a second wavelength with illuminated by light at a first wavelength. Implementations of such a ball-finding device are disclosed that use blue or near-UV illumination light to create emission at somewhat longer wavelengths. Unlike prior art that uses UV illumination the disclosed devices do not require proximity to the ball to enhance visual detection of the same.

Description

Determine to lose the method and apparatus of golf position

Technical field

The present invention relates to determine the position of lost objects, particularly relate to the lost golf ball position.

Background technology

During golf range game,,, lose golf and usually take place particularly for the beginner for the entrant.This at first must pay the expense of replenishing a large amount of lost balls, secondly is if can not find ball, and entrant's forfeiture may cause a blow of having failed bout so, is tedious.

Some kinds of method and apparatus plans are crossed by making golf find to overcome above-described problem easily.Usually these methods comprise certain mark that has the golf that is easy to survey label.For example US 6482108 McLaughlin tell about and use the hologram used golf and US 6353386 Castonguay tell about and use compound odorous.The shortcoming of these systems is the entrant or must reequips ball by the label of packing into, or must use the ball of developing through special.

Another kind method adopts and many golf to be scribbled absorb nearly UV light then usually with the actual practice of the brightening agent of the longer wavelength emitting fluorescence in the blue portion of spectrum.Thereby, they can be fluoresced and will be easier to find by on golf, shining UV light.Some devices that produce relevant UV light are can be available on market.Yet these devices are usually for using night, so that the bias light on every side that causes on fluorescent emission and daytime is differentiated.In addition, because light must directly shine on the golf, therefore make the more observable effects of people and must make device be in close proximity to the work of ball part in order to reach.

Summary of the invention

The objective of the invention is to be provided for determining a kind of improved method and the equipment of lost objects position.

Be useful on the equipment of finding object according to the invention provides, this equipment comprises:

Be applicable to by the light source of object or the wavelength emission light beam that covering absorbs on it;

Be applicable to that detection is at the object or the detector of the light in the wave-length coverage of covering emitting fluorescence on it; With

Be applicable to that the light of surveying according to detector defines the processor of object.

Preferably this equipment further comprises the oscillator of modulated light source.Normally oscillator will be via a kind of drive circuit modulated light source.

Preferably processor comprises frequency mixer, and frequency mixer receives modulation signal from oscillator, and receives the signal from detector.Be typically processor and further comprise a kind of low pass filter, low pass filter is applicable to as long as produce time averaging coherent signal is passed through with regard to the signal that makes effective breadth.

What have superiority is that processor will further comprise a kind of threshold detector, and threshold detector compares signal and the predetermined threshold from low pass filter, and in order to show the signal that ball is arranged and significantly exceed threshold value to the indicator transmission.

Common this modulation will be in 10Hz～100Hz frequency range.

Description of drawings

In order to help the understanding of the present invention, will and describe its specific embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings by embodiment now, in the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is the plane that is used to find lose the equipment of golf according to the present invention; With

Fig. 2 is the block diagram of electronic unit among Fig. 1.

The specific embodiment

Consult Fig. 1, the represented equipment of Fig. 1 comprises oscillator 101, and oscillator 101 is applicable to produce and is used for the signal 102 of modulated light source 103.Light source as shown is a kind of light emitting diode (LED), but can use some other light source.Modulation can be sinusoidal wave or other patterns of picture square wave and so on, and can be a kind of amplitude modulation(PAM) or phase place modulation.Light source 103 is created in the blue or interior emitted light beams 106 of ultraviolet ray (UV) part in the spectrum.Basically in the light source front Beam Control is become wide-angle.Some lens or other optical systems 104 can be used for controlling light beam and expand bundle, and produce desirable emission figure, decide on light source.

Owing to covering is coated on the golf, so ball is absorbed in the light of UV and blue spectrum and launches (fluorescing) again with longer wavelength.The accurate wavelength of fluorescence depends on the concrete covering that is coated on the ball, but finds to be generally the wavelength conversion of tens nanometers.

Other materials in the place that can determine the golf position as meadow and so on also fluoresces, but fluoresces with low-down efficient, consequently is likely from golf to exhale when surveying fluorescence.

Equipment also comprises detector 109.Detector 109 is equipped with to make from the light of wide-angle outgoing and can be detected the lens 108 that device is collected.In addition, for the light of elimination wavelength except the wavelength of fluorescence that is thought out in advance according to golf, and, filter 110 is installed in the appropriate location of detector front for making above-described light as much as possible be detected device 109 receptions.In addition, because therefore fluorescence can be provided with light shielding mask 111,112 than several magnitude a little less than the light of launching from light source 103 around light source 103 and/or detector 109.

Detector 109 sends to photoelectric current 114 processor 116 that is used to measure when golf occurring.In order to help Signal Processing, also can input to processor to oscillator signal 113 copies.If detecting is a ball, just signal 115 being sent to indicator 117 has ball with call user's attention.

Detector is responsive to the small part of propagating at the detector direction glazing only and receives this part light.When detector is not when designing especially for the unnecessary light of elimination, sunlight can easily flood detector, makes device almost become valueless at all.For this reason, thus above-mentioned detector generally use and in very low ambient light intensity, be resultful only at night.Yet, use promptly that sunlight still may be by force to being enough to flood faint fluorescence signal on relevant wavelength under the situation of filter 110.

According to the present invention, the use synchronizing detection detects the fluorescent signals from golf from strong ambient light.Modulated to light source with to detection circuit.Therefore signal to modulation period T coherent integration.Yet bias light does not have specific phase relation with modulation.Therefore such a light or noise be the not linear increase along with the time to the signal detection role, but increases along with the square root of period T.For example, concerning the sufficiently long time of integration, thereby actual signal can increase to such an extent that provide realizing detection soon than noise role at last.

Usually can be with slow scanning mode operative installations.Therefore have reason to suppose that the signal integration time of the T=0.1S order of magnitude is more suitable.This is equivalent to an acceptable noise in the bandwidth B scope of B=1/T=10Hz roughly.

Consult Fig. 2 now, Fig. 2 represents the implementation of synchronizing detection.201 pairs of drive circuits 203 of oscillator apply modulation 202 so that drive circuit 203 provides the driving signal to LED 204 again, and simultaneously modulation signal 205 are sent to frequency mixer 206.The frequency of modulation signal does not have critically implication and can remain in the scope of 10Hz～100MHz.By golf or object like that output light 207 is transformed into the fluorescence 208 that is detected device 209 receptions, detector 209 sends to amplifier 211 sends to frequency mixer 206 then to (212) from amplifier 211 another input port to (210).The output 213 of frequency mixer 206 is sent to low pass filter (LPF) 214.Wave filter is designed to the frequency of energy cut-off frequency more than bandwidth B, therefore to the average coherent signal of time T=1/B the signal of effective breadth is passed through as long as produce.Make the output 215 of LPF send the threshold dector 216 that the LPF signal is compared with predetermined threshold to.If signal surpasses predetermined threshold then signal 217 is sent to indicator 218 so that pointed out ball.

The invention is intended to not to be to be confined to some details in the above embodiment.For example, the multiple light courcess embodiment that can use multiple light courcess, promptly is arranged in the hexagon pattern increases the luminous power that puts on golf.In addition, can be with modulated light source on the high-frequency as 10-100MHz, so that detect the distance that the phase of received signal relevant with institute application of modulation phase place also can be used for being measured to golf.For some selection schemes, can use plastic lens to come constructing apparatus at last, plastic lens comprises the plastics Fresnel Lenses.

Claims

1. equipment that is used to survey object, this equipment comprises:

Be applicable to detection by object or on it covering the detector of the light in the fluorescigenic wave-length coverage; With

Be applicable to that the light of surveying according to detector determines the processor that object exists.

2. equipment as claimed in claim 1 further comprises the oscillator of modulated light source.

3. equipment as claimed in claim 2 further comprises drive circuit.

4. as claim 2 or 3 described equipment, wherein processor comprises frequency mixer, and frequency mixer receives the modulation signal from oscillator, and receives the signal from detector.

5. equipment as claimed in claim 4, wherein processor further comprises low pass filter, as long as low pass filter is applicable to passing through with regard to the signal that makes effective breadth is appearred in time averaging coherent signal.

6. equipment as claimed in claim 5, wherein processor further comprises threshold detector, and threshold detector compares signal and the predetermined threshold from low pass filter, and sends the signal that exceeds threshold value to indicator, and showing has ball to exist.

7. the described equipment of arbitrary claim in the claim 3 to 6 of deciding as claim 2 or on claim 2, wherein modulation is in 10Hz～100MHz frequency range.

8. be used for a kind of method of the position of definite lost objects, this object contains with the first wavelength absorption light and with the fluorescigenic covering of second wavelength; This method mainly comprises more following steps:

The light pearl (bead) that contains the wavelength that is absorbed by covering on the object is provided;

The light of detection in the wave-length coverage of the object emitting fluorescence that will locate; With

According to the light of being surveyed, determine that whether object exists.