GB2280509A

GB2280509A - Odometer for golf trolley

Info

Publication number: GB2280509A
Application number: GB9415471A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philip Walter Nelson; Colin Leslie Minehan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-07-31
Filing date: 1994-08-01
Publication date: 1995-02-01
Also published as: GB9415471D0

Abstract

An odometer particularly, though not exclusively, for attachment to a golf trolley to provide a progressive display of distance travel led by the trolley and distance to be travel led, for example from tee to green on a golf course and to provide further information such as a players score. The device is adapted for attachment to most if not all existing golf trolleys but may be incorporated during manufacture thereof, and includes a sensor (13) to be attached to the trolley (10) and including a Hall-Effect chip, and a magnet (14) attachable to a trolley wheel (12) thus to provide a count of wheel revolutions which are interpreted by a microprocessor (16) having a number of user-selective function and numerical keys and a liquid crystal display screen. The device may be connected to a computer and/or printer for the subsequent transfer of data. <IMAGE>

Description

AN ODOMETER THIS INVENTION concerns an odometer and particularly, though not exclusively, a device for attachment to a golf trolley, including hand driven and power driven trolleys, to provide an accurate measurement of distance travelled by the trolley. The distance measurement system is adapted to calculate and display several kinds of information useful to a golfer, such as the distance travelled from a tee and the distance still to travel to the hole.

Additionally, it can serve as a personal scoreboard for use by a player during the game. By means of this device a golfer may accurately determine the power of his shots and the distance achieved by each club. The device may be incorporated into a golf trolley during manufacture thereof. Alternatively, due to its simple construction, it may be attached to an existing trolley as an accessory therefor.

Odometers of this general kind are known and often include devices which frictionally engage one or more wheels of the trolley and are mechanically connected to a counter. Some electronic equivalents are also known but these largely require very accurate location of a transducer adapted to produce a signal representative of a number of revolutions of the wheel.

An object of the present invention is to provide an odometer, particularly though not exclusively for use on golf trolleys, of improved accuracy, simplicity of construction and reliability.

According to the present invention there is provided an odometer for attachment to a wheeled trolley comprising means adapted to produce an electrical signal representative of progression of the trolley, an electronic control device responsive to the electrical signal, and an indicator responsive to the control device to provide a read-out of distance travelled by the trolley.

Further according to the invention there is provided an odometer for attachment to a wheeled trolley and including a proximity sensor to be located close to a wheel of the trolley, and adapted to produce an electrical signal representative of numbers of revolutions of the wheel in response to the magnet fixed to the wheel, an electronic control device responsive to the electrical signal from the sensor, and an indicator responsive to the control device to provide a read-out of distance travelled by the trolley, characterised in that the sensor includes a Hall Effect device to produce the electrical signal according to the proximity of the magnet, as the wheel rotates relative to the sensor.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a golf trolley including an odometer made in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of one wheel of the trolley and the adjacent framework, as viewed in the direction of arrow A in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a front view of an electronic control device and indicator being part of the odometer.

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated a golf trolley having a framework 10 to support a golf bag 11, and a pair of wheels 12.

In accordance with the invention, the odometer comprises a Hall-Effect sensor or transducer 13 mounted upon the framework 10 close to one of the wheels 12, a magnet 14 fixed to the same wheel at a predetermined radial distance from the rotational axis thereof, and a cable 15 connecting the transducer 13 to an electronic control device 16 attached to the framework 14 at its upper end. Preferably, a jack plug 17 removably connects the cable 15 to the device 16.

Cable ties 18 are provided to retain the cable 15 in close proximity with the framework 10.

In the enlarged head 19 of the transducer 13 is a Hall Effect chip; in other words a device through which current flow is disturbed as the magnet 14 passes the transducer during rotation of the wheel, which leads to an electrical potential gradient transverse to the direction of current flow. A mild steel concentrator is also disposed within the transducer 13 to assist the Hall-Effect. The natural sensitivity of a Hall-Effect sensor of this kind allows a good degree of tolerance in the air gap or space between the sensor and the magnet. Ideally, the distance apart when the magnet is opposite the sensor, should be in the region of 15mm but may be as great as 30mm.It can be seen therefore that the positional tolerance of the sensor 13 and magnet 14 is considerable so that this device may be easily fitted to most if not all existing golf trolleys without the necessary precision of other proximity devices previously tried.

Fig. 3 illustrates the readout face of the control device 16 and includes a liquid crystal screen 20 above which is a series of five buttons A to E each of which preferably carries a pictorial icon to represent a certain mode of operation of the device as will be described.

Beneath the screen 20 is a series of 10 numerical buttons 21 bearing respectively the numerals 0 to 9.

The control device 16 is provided with a clamp 22 of universal characteristics enabling it to be attached to most if not all of existing golf trolleys close to the pulling handle thereof.

The cable 15 preferably has three cores respectively to supply power to the probe and to receive the electrical signals from the transducer 13. The cable is screened to reduce electrical noise and to increase its physical strength.

The control device 16 includes a micro-controller integrated circuit (MCU) including dedicated software. The MCU calculates distance travelled by the trolley as taken from each rotation of the wheel and will provide a readout, for example in metres, for a predetermined wheel diameter. Each time the magnet 14 passes the transducer 13 a pulse is sent to the control unit which counts the pulses and produces a readout equivalent to distance travelled. In order to ensure that the control unit is accurate irrespective of wheel diameter, an operator must first measure and calibrate the device according to the most convenient or available position on the wheel 12 at which the magnet may be attached. The control device will retain the calibration unless its internal battery has been disconnected whereupon re-calibration will be necessary.

However, the ability to calibrate the device in this way enables it to be used on all kinds of trolley with many different wheel sizes.

As will be described, the buttons A to E and 21 are used by an operator to set up and operate the device. Button A is used to accept data to be entered on the device. Button B is used to enter a new distance, i.e. the length of a hole on a golf course.

Button C is used to enter a whole score. Button D is used to clear the scoreboard or display 20, and button E is an ON-OFF switch for the system. The graphical or pictorial icons used on buttons A to E permit the device to be understood irrespective of language. The display 20 is a one-line, 16-character liquid crystal device and is used to indicate measurements and to interface with the user. If required, the MCU may be programmed for different languages. In operation, the device is turned on by pressing button E, and the distance of a hole to be played may be entered by first pressing button B and then entering the distance in metres using the numerical buttons 21.

Thereafter, as the trolley is wheeled over the ground, and if the device remains turned on, the display will indicate a gradually increasing value of distance travelled and, conversely, a gradually reducing distance still be to be travelled to the hole. A typical readout in this mode is illustrated in Fig. 3.

The user may enter the number of shots scored on a particular hole by pressing button C and then using the numerical buttons 21 to enter the number of shots. At each hole, the accumulating score may be updated and read, again by pressing button C.

A user's score may be deleted from the internal memory of the device by pressing button D.

Other facilities may be provided in the software. For example, the unit may additionally serve as a teaching aid such that it may suggest a type of club to be used according to an instantaneous distance to the hole, and this can be made to relate directly to a player's own capabilities. Data for this purpose may be entered by the user to be representative of, for example, of the last three shots which the particular player has achieved using each of the clubs available, and the unit will operate by taking an average of the three readings. If a player continues to input such data on a continuous or intermittent basis, then the average will be continually updated. Club selection by the device would relate the distance to be travelled to the user's performance with various clubs.Not only would such information be useful to the player but it would also serve to shorten the time taken over club selection and thus shorten the game.

The device may be made more comprehensive by including an input port which may be connected to a computer thus to down-load into the device information about a particular golf course and the conditions prevailing at the time. Alternatively, such information or data could be loaded by the player according to a predetermined system of numerical codes. Such information may, for example, include hole number, distance of the hole, par and/or stroke index, etc. Furthermore, data from the device could be down-loaded into a central computer carrying data for many players, for example, the members of a golf club.

If required, the control device may be capable of holding more than one player's score and be able to memorise each shot played, the distance the ball has been hit, scores and handicaps, all of which information could then be analysed hole by hole, shot by shot, after the game. The information would then be retained until the next game was played, or down-loaded onto a computer. For the additional facilities referred to above one or more further liquid crystal display lines may be required, with additional function keys and a larger memory capacity. Other standard electronic read-out facilities may be included such as a real time clock providing information as to time and date. Furthermore, the control device may include or be capable of being connected to a printer thus to provide, for example, a score card as may be required in competitions.

Within in the MCU there is preferably the facility whereby the total ascending value of distance travelled by the trolley may be converted into a figure representing an average number of calories generated by the player walking that distance, and this could be provided as an option on the display.

Furthermore, the Hall-effect sensor-and transducer may be replaced by a vibration sensor detecting the footfalls of the user, and this can be calibrated by the process of the player pacing out a predetermined distance equivalent to a number of average-length paces. This information could be interpreted in the MCU to provide a read-out of the distance travelled by the trolley.

It will be appreciated that although this device has been described as being closely related to and particularly applicable to a golf trolley, it may be applied also to any other form of wheeled trolley in which the basic function of an odometer is required with additional information derived, if appropriate, from a record of distance travelled.

Claims

1. An odometer for attachment to a wheeled trolley comprising means adapted to produce an electrical signal representative of progression of the trolley, an electronic control device responsive to the electrical signal, and an indicator responsive to the control device to provide a read-out of distance travelled by the trolley.

2. An odometer for attachment to a wheeled trolley and including a proximity sensor to be located close to a wheel of the trolley, and adapted to produce an electrical signal representative of numbers of revolutions of the wheel in response to the magnet fixed to the wheel, an electronic control device responsive to the electrical signal from the sensor, and an indicator responsive to the control device to provide a read-out of distance travelled by the trolley, characterised in that the sensor includes a Hall Effect device to produce the electrical signal according to the proximity of the magnet, as the wheel rotates relative to the sensor.

3. An odometer according to Claim 2, in which the transducer includes a Hall-Effect chip through which current flow is disturbed as the magnet passes the transducer during rotation of the wheel, which leads to an electrical potential gradient transverse to the direction of current flow.

4. An odometer according to Claim 5 or Claim 3, wherein the transducer includes a steel concentrator to assist the Hall-Effect.

5. An odometer according to any preceding claim, wherein the electronic control device includes a liquid crystal display screen, a plurality of function keys and a numerical key pad.

6. An odometer according to any preceding claim, wherein the electronic control device includes a clamp enabling it be attached to the framework of a golf trolley.

7. An odometer according to Claim 6, wherein a screened cable connects the signal generating means to the electronic control device.

8. An odometer according to Claim 2, wherein said electronic control device includes a micro-controller integrated circuit (MCU) including dedicated software adapted to calculate distance travelled by a trolley to which the odometer is attached, according to each rotation of the wheel or wheels thereof.

9. An odometer according to Claim 8, wherein the MCU is capable of being calibrated according to the location of the magnet on the wheel, an established calibration being maintained within the MCU so long as a power supply thereto is maintained.

10. An odometer according to Claim 5, wherein the function keys and the numerical keys interact to enable a distance to be travelled to be entered in the MCU such that the liquid crystal display thereof, in use, may indicate distance travelled and distance to be travelled to a selected destination.

11. An odometer according to Claim 5, wherein said liquid crystal display screen provides a l-line, 16-character display.

12. An odometer according to Claim 5, wherein the liquid crystal display screen provides a plurality of lines of display.

13. An odometer according to Claim 5, wherein said liquid crystal display screen is adapted to indicate additional information such as real time and date.

14. An odometer according to any preceding claim, wherein the electronic control device includes an input port for connection to a computer thus to enable data to be transferred between the computer and the odometer.

15. An odometer according to Claim 14, wherein said electronic control device includes means for connection to a printer for the transfer of data thereto.

16. An odometer substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.