GB2451172A

GB2451172A - An apparatus for measuring an elongate sporting article

Info

Publication number: GB2451172A
Application number: GB0812894A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hugo Marais Maree
Original assignee: SPORTORIA
Current assignee: SPORTORIA
Priority date: 2007-07-16
Filing date: 2008-07-15
Publication date: 2009-01-21
Also published as: ZA200806196B; GB0812894D0

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus 10 for measuring an elongate sporting article 50, a sporting article database (114, fig 3), a computer system (100), a method (200) and a machine-readable medium. The apparatus 10 includes a securing formation 12 configured to receive a first part of the article, a cricket bat 50, and, in use, to resist displacement of that part of the bat 50, and a seat (18) spaced from the securing formation 12, the seat (18) being configured to accommodate, in use, a second part of the bat which is longitudinally spaced from the first part, thereby to support the bat. The apparatus 10 further includes an electronic scale 16 linked to the seat (18), operable to measure a Pickup Weight (that is, torque) of the bat and a digital display 20 in electronic communication with the electronic scale 16, thereby to give a digital numeric indication of the Pickup Weight.

Description

An Apparatus for Measuring an Elongate Sporting Article This invention relates generally to sports and particularly to an apparatus for measuring sporting articles, to a computer system and to a method.

The Inventor is aware that weight distribution along the length of a sporting article, such as a bat, club, stick or racquet, may affect the performance characteristics of the article. In particular, the weight distribution affects the torque or moment which the article exerts when a user holds the article at one end. This torque, for the purposes of this specification, is further referred to as a "Pickup Weight" or PW of the sporting article.

The Inventor has noted that it can be difficult for a user to identify accurately and quickly the Pickup Weight of a sporting article, especially if that user is not familiar is with that particular article. The Inventor wishes to overcome this problem.

An apparatus for measuring an elongate sporting article, the apparatus including: a securing formation configured to receive a first part of the article and, in use, to resist displacement of that part of the article; a seat spaced from the securing formation, the seat configured to accommodate, in use, a second part of the article which is longitudinally spaced from the first part, thereby to support the article; an electronic scale linked to one selected from the securing formation and the seat, operable to measure a Pickup Weight of the article; and an digital display in electronic communication with the electronic scale, thereby to give a digital numeric indication of the Pickup Weight.

The elongate article may be a bat (such as a cricket bat or baseball bat), a club (such as a golf club), a racquet (such as a tennis racquet or squash racquet), a stick (such as a hockey stick), or the like. The sporting article may include a handle at one end thereof. For example, an end portion, toward a free end, of the handle may be used as the first part of the article.

The scale may be linked to the seat.

The seat may be configured to accommodate the second part of the article which is positioned between the first part and a centre of gravity of the article.

The securing formation may be operable to receive a handle of the article and, upon receipt of the handle, to hold the handle radially captive or to resist upward displacement of the handle. The securing formation may include an arch or inverted U-shaped formation, in which case the handle may be slid longitudinally into the securing formation. Instead, the securing formation may be deformable, such as a loop or tie, in which case the securing formation may be tied or fastened around the handle.

The scale may be configured to measure a weight (e.g. in kilograms) and not necessarily in units of torque (e.g. Newton metres). However, the article may act as a lever, with a fulcrum at the securing formation and the effort or input at the scale.

Therefore, the Pickup Weight of the article may influence the weight read by the scale, thus giving a quantitative indication of the Pickup Weight of the article.

The seat may be U-shaped, thereby to resist lateral movement of the article when seated on the seat.

The apparatus may include a locating means to locate or calibrate the article longitudinally relative to the apparatus. The locating means may be a projection or tab against which the end of the article (e.g. the free end of the handle) may be placed. Instead, the locating means could be a marking on a surface of the apparatus, the marking indicating that a particular part of the article should be aligned therewith. In one embodiment, if the bat includes a shoulder (as is the case with a cricket bat), the seat of the scale (or the securing formation) may double as the locating means. For instance, if the seat is shaped to accommodate the handle of the article, the article may be positioned in use such that the shoulder abuts against the seat, thereby to ensure consistent measurement.

If the apparatus includes electronic components requiring a power supply, the apparatus may also include a power source, such as a battery, or electrical connection means, such as a power cable.

The invention extends to a sporting article database having stored thereon a description of a plurality of sporting articles together with their respective Pickup Weights as measured by an apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims.

The invention extends further to a computer system operable to determine a suitable Pickup Weight for a person, the system including: a user interface operable to receive an indication of at least one physical characteristic of the person; a Pickup Weight database having stored thereon a correlation between the physical characteristic and Pickup Weight; and a determination module operable to interrogate the database thereby to determine an ideal or suggested Pickup Weight for the person based on the received characteristic.

The physical characteristic may include a height of the person and/or a sporting style of the person. If the apparatus is configured to measure a cricket bat, then the physical characteristic may include a batting position of the person, such as opener, middle order, or tail ender.

The computer system may includes a sporting article database as defined above and the determination module may further be operable, after determining the ideal or suggested Pickup Weight, to interrogate the sporting article database to determine whether or not any sporting articles stored thereon have a Pickup \Vcight matching the determined ideal or suggested Pickup Weight.

The computer system may include an apparatus, as defined above, operatively connected thereto.

The invention extends also to a method for determining a suitable Pickup Weight for a person, the method including: receiving via a user interface an indication of at least one physical characteristic of the person; and interrogating a Pickup \Veight database having stored thereon a correlation between the physical characteristic and Pickup Weight; and determining an ideal or suggested Pickup Weight for the person based on the received characteristic.

The method may include interrogating a sporting article database to determine whether or not any sporting articles stored thereon have a Pickup Weight matching the determined ideal or suggested Pickup \Veight.

Accordingly, the invention extend still further to a machine-readable medium which includes a set of instructions which, when executed by a machine, causes the machine to perform a method as defined above.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.

In the drawings: Figure 1 shows a three-dimensional view of an apparatus for measuring an elongate sporting article, in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 shows a three-dimensional view of the apparatus of Figure 1 in use; Figure 3 shows a schematic view of a computer system, in accordance with the invention; and Figure 4 shows a flow diagram of a method in accordance with the invention.

Referring now to Figure 1, reference numeral 10 generally indicates an apparatus, in accordance with the invention, for measuring a Pickup Weight of an elongate sporting article. The apparatus 10 will he described further with reference to a cricket bat 50, although it is to be appreciated that the application of the apparatus is not necessarily limited thereto.

The apparatus 10 includes a securing formation 12 in the form of an arch or bow which defines an aperture or guide-path 14 therethrough to accommodate part of the article 50, in this case a free end of a handle 52 (refer to Figure 2). The securing formation 12 prevents upward or lateral displacement of the handle 52 of the bat 50 when inserted into the guide path 14.

The apparatus 10 also includes a scale, generally indicated by reference numeral 16, which is linked to or which defines a seat 18 to receive a second part of the bat 50, which in this case is another part of the handle 52. The seat 18 is generally U-shaped such that it prevents lateral movement of that part of the handle 52 when seated in the seat 1 8. The scale 16 is operable to measure a weight of the hat 50 bearing down on the seat 18, thereby to give an indication of the Pickup Weight of the bat 50.

The securing formation 12 and the scale 16 are spaced longitudinally from each other, although the particular spacing may vary as desired.

Jn this example embodiment, the seat 18 doubles as a locating means. In use, the bat 50 is positioned so that a shoulder 54 of the bat 50 abuts against the seat 18 thereby to calibrate the bat 50 longitudinally relative to the apparatus 10 to ensure consistent measurements.

In this example, the scale 16 is a digital scale and the apparatus 10 therefore includes a digital display 20 and two operating buttons 22, 24. The display 20 is in electronic communication with the scale 16 to indicate quantitatively the Pickup Weight based on the weight measured by the scale 16. A first operating button 22 is an on/off button while the second button 24 is a zeroing button in use to zero or reset the display 20.

The device 10 includes a power cord 26 connected to an electrical plug (not shown) for connection to an electrical outlet to provide the apparatus 10 with electrical power.

The apparatus 10 will further be described in use with reference to Figure 2. To measure the Pickup \Veight of a cricket bat 50, a free end of the handle 52 is slid longitudinally into the guide path 14 of the securing formation 12 and a fixed end of the handle 52 is seated on the seat 18 of the scale 16. The bat 50 is then slid longitudinally until the shoulder 54 abuts against the seat 1 8 thereby to ensure consistent measurements when weighing respective bats.

The hat 50 acts as a lever (particularly a third order lever) and therefore the weight measured by the scale 16 is in fact indicative of a torque or moment (and hence of the Pickup \Veight applied by the weight of a blade 56 of the bat 50. In lever terminology, the securing formation 12 acts as a fulcrum (indicated by arrow 64), the weight of the blade 56 acts as a load (indicated by arrow 60) and the output (indicated by arrow 62) is exerted on the seat 18. Therefore, the scale 16 measures a weight which corresponds to the output 62.

It is to be appreciated that the weight of the blade 56, as well as the weight distribution along the length of the blade 56, affects the measurement. For example, the position of the "hump" on the blade 56 may vary longitudinally for respective makes or models of bats. Therefore, if the weight is concentrated towards a toe end of the bat 50 (e.g. as is the case for bats of some opening batsmen), the load 62 is greater as is the measurement measured by the scale 16.

Conversely, if the weight is concentrated more towards the shoulder 54 of the bat 50 (as is the case for bats of some tail ender batsmen), the Pickup Weight measured will be less. It is in this fashion that the Pickup Weight of the bat 50 is measured.

In other words, the actual weight (or dead weight) of the bat 50, together with the weight distribution along the length of the bat 50, intluence the Pickup Weight.

2 Thus, once the bat 50 is in position, the user can turn the scale on by pressing the power button 22 and reading a numerical measurement on the display 20. If the apparatus 10 needs to be reset or zeroed, the bat 50 is removed and the button 24 is pressed.

Another manner in which the Pickup Weight of the bat 50 can be measured is to take a first reading (as described above) and then to take a second reading with the hat 50 displaced slightly longitudinally so that the free end of the handle 52 is aligned with the securing formation 12. The first reading and a second reading are then added together and the result is divided by two to obtain an average reading.

The Inventor believes that the invention as exemplified is advantageous because the Pickup Weight of an article, such as the bat 50, can now he quantified. Often, the Pickup Weight of a bat is more important than the actual dead weight of the hat.

By way of development, and referring now also to Figures 3 and 4, the Inventor envisages that a sporting article database of Pickup Weights of bats may be populated based on measurements from the apparatus 10.

A practical advantage of this is that if a Pickup Weight of a bat is known, once a user identifies a Pickup Weight which he/she is comfortable with, it is then easier to determine from a range of potential bats which of those bats would be appropriate for the user. For instance, a user may have an old hat which he/she likes, and would like to replace it with a new one having the same Pickup Weight. The user may measure the Pickup Weight of his/her old bat, and select a new one having the same or similar Pickup Weight.

The invention also extends to a computer system generally indicated by reference numeral 100. The computer system 100 includes a processor 104 embodying a determination module 106 which is a conceptual module corresponding to a task performed by the processor 104. To this end, the computer system 100 includes a machine-readable medium, e.g. main memory, and/or a hard disk drive, which carries thereon a set of instructions to direct the operation of the processor 104, for example being in the form of a computer program. It is to be understood that the processor 104 may be one or more microprocessors, controllers, digital signal processors (DSPs), or any other suitable computing device, resource, hardware, software, or embedded logic.

The computer system 100 further includes a memory module 110 having stored thereon a Pickup \Veight database 112 and, optionally, a sporting article database 114. The computer system 100 is configured, in this example, to implement a method 200 as illustrated in Figure 4. It is to be appreciated, however, that the computer system 100 could he configured to implement a different method or that the method 200 could he implemented on a different computer system.

The computer system 100 is configured to provide a user interface (not illustrated) via which an operator or user may enter at least one physical characteristic of a person looking for a new hat. In this example the physical characteristic is a height of the person, and, optionally, a hatting position (e.g. opener, mid order, tail ender) of the person. The Pickup Weight database 112 has stored thereon a correlation between the physical characteristic (i.e. height) and Pickup Weight.

In use, the computer system 100 provides the user interface via which the user enters an indication of his/her height. Accordingly, the computer system 100 receives, at block 202, the indication of the height of the user. The determination module 106 then interrogates, at block 204, the Pickup Weight database 112 to determine, at block 206, an ideal or a recommended Pickup Weight for the person based on the height of the person. Optionally, the determination module 106 can be configured then to interrogate, at block 208, the sporting article database 114 to determine whether or not any sporting articles stored thereon have a Pickup Weight matching the determined ideal or suggested Pickup Weight.

A practical application of the above method 200 can be for a user who is looking to purchase a bat but is not aware of his/her ideal Pickup \Veight. The user's height is inputted into the computer system 100 which then determines the ideal or suggested 2 Pickup Weight of the bat for the user based on the description of the user and then suggests a particular make or model of bat which has that Pickup \Veigbt.

The Inventor believes that the computer system 100 and the method 200 as exemplified will greatly assist users in identifying bats which are appropriate for them.

Claims

Claims 1. An apparatus for measuring an elongate sporting article, the apparatus including: a securing formation configured to receive a first part of the article and, in use, to resist displacement of that part of the article; a seat spaced from the securing formation, the seat configured to accommodate, in use, a second part of the article which is longitudinally spaced from the first part, thereby to support the article; an electronic scale linked to onc selected from the securing formation and the seat, operable to measure a Pickup Weight of the article; and a digital display in electronic communication with the electronic scale, thereby to give a digital numeric indication of the Pickup Weight.
2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the scale is linked to the seat.
3. An apparatus as claimed in claim I or claim 2, in which the seat is configured to accommodate the second part of the article which is positioned between the first part and a centre of gravity of the article.
4. An apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which the securing formation is operable to receive a handle of the article and, upon receipt of the handle, to resist upward displacement of the handle.
5. An apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which the securing formation includes an arch or inverted U-shaped formation.
6. An apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which the seat defined by the scale is U-shaped, thereby to resist lateral movement of the article when seated on the seat.

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7. An apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims, which includes locating means to locate or calibrate the article longitudinally relative to the apparatus.
8. A sporting article database having stored thereon a description of a plurality of sporting articles together with their respective Pickup Weights as measured by an apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims.
9. A computer system operable to determine a suitable Pickup \Veight for a person, the system including: a user interface operable to receive an indication of at least one physical characteristic of the person; a Pickup Weight database having stored thereon a correlation between the physical characteristic and Pickup Weight; and a determination module operable to interrogate the database thereby to determine an ideal or suggested Pickup Weight for the person based on the received characteristic.
10. A computer system as claimed in claim 9, which includes a sporting article database as claimed in claim 8 and in which the determination module is further operable, after determining the ideal or suggested Pickup Weight, to interrogate the sporting article database to determine whether or not any sporting articles stored thereon have a Pickup Weight matching the determined ideal or suggested Pickup Weight.
11. A computer system as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10, which includes an apparatus, as claimed in any of claims I to 7 inclusive, operatively connected thereto.
12. A method for determining a suitable Pickup Weight for a person, the method including: receiving via a user interface an indication of at least one physical characteristic of the person; and -11 -interrogating a Pickup Weight database having stored thereon a correlation between the physical characteristic and Pickup Weight; and determining an ideal or suggested Pickup \Veight for the person based on the received characteristic.
13. A method as claimed in claim 12, which includes interrogating a sporting article database to determine whether or not any sporting articles stored thereon have a Pickup \Veight matching the determined ideal or suggested Pickup \Veight.
14. A machine-readable medium which includes a set of instructions which, when executed by a machine, causes the machine to perform a method as claimed in claim 12 or claim 13.