JPH1147337A - Flying distance measuring instrument for golf ball - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to exactly measure the elevation angle and speed of a hit ball by providing the instrument with two rows of light receiving elements which receive the rays emitted from a light source and measuring the initial flying elevation angle and speed of the hit ball from the value of the light quantities received by the respective light receiving elements and the detection time thereof when the hit ball passes the elements. SOLUTION: When the hit ball reflects the irradiation light in a light receiving section 1 and enters the light receiving range of the row of the first light receiving elements 7, this reflected light is received by the first light receiving elements 7 and the light emission luminance of the IR light emitting diodes of a light emitting section 1 is increased so that the reflected light quantity of the hit ball to the row of the second light receiving element 8 is increased. When the hit ball arrives at the light receiving range of the row of the second light receiving elements 8, the reflected light of the hit ball is received by the second light receiving elements 8. The same holds true of the third light receiving elements as well. The angle at which the segments connecting the pass positions of the hit ball obtd. by the rows of the respective elements is defined as the elevation angle and the speed of the hit ball is calculated from this elevation angle and the difference between the intervals of the light receiving elements and the time when there is the max. output of the light receiving elements. The carry is calculated from these elevation angles and the speeds.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the elevation angle and speed of a golf ball to measure the flight distance of the golf ball.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The flight distance of an object launched in a vacuum at an initial velocity v is calculated from the elevation angle and the gravitational acceleration. In the case of hitting a golf ball, the ball moves differently from that in a vacuum due to air resistance and spin of the ball. This motion can be represented by the equation of motion described in, for example, Nippon Institute of Technology Research Report Vol. 16, No. 4, and an empirical formula for calculating the flying distance (carry) of a hit ball using the elevation angle and speed of the hit ball as variables is given by: It is made. Therefore, even in a spatially limited place such as a driving range, in order for a batter to know the carry of his own ball, a method using a light source and a photoelectric element disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-43505 is used. A device that estimates the flight distance of a hit ball based on the measured elevation angle and speed is used.

[0003]

The above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 56-4
In Japanese Patent No. 3505, as a method of measuring the pop-out speed of a hit ball, as shown in FIG. 7, when a hit ball crosses two rows of concentric arc-shaped photoelectric elements, the photoelectric element is first hit in each row. Measure the difference between the times of shading,
Assuming that the distance the ball moves during that time is the interval between rows,
The speed of the hit ball was calculated. In addition, the angle θ at which a line connecting the position M of the photoelectric element belonging to the outer row of the two rows of photoelectric elements arranged in an arc and the fixed position T of the ball forms a horizontal line is defined as the launch angle of the hit ball. However, in this method, no matter where the hit ball passes between the adjacent photoelectric elements, the elevation point is set as the passing point of the hit ball with the angle θ formed by the fixed position T of the ball and the position M of the photoelectric element that first detects the hit ball. And the amount of movement of the hit ball in the time used for calculating the speed is not always equal to the row interval, so that the carry of the hit ball obtained by these methods cannot be highly accurate. .

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the conventional problems, and comprises a light source and two rows of light receiving elements for receiving light rays emitted from the light source. By the value of the amount of light received by the element and the detection time,
The present invention proposes a golf ball flight distance measuring device that measures the angle of elevation and speed of a hit ball.

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS When a first light receiving element array detects a hit ball, a light emitting section increases the amount of light emitted, and each of the light receiving elements of the second and third light receiving element arrays outputs an electric quantity corresponding to the received light quantity. I do. This output value is stored in the memory as numerical data A / D-converted for each sampling time in combination with the sampling time, and the hitting ball on the light-receiving element array is output based on the output value of each light-receiving element and the known light-receiving element interval. Calculate the position. Second,
The angle between the line connecting the passing position of the hit ball on the third light receiving element row and the horizontal line is defined as the elevation angle of the hit ball, and the difference between the obtained elevation angle, the known light receiving element interval, and the time at which the maximum output of the light receiving element was obtained. Calculate the speed of the hit ball.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A measuring instrument according to the present invention comprises a light emitting section 1 for irradiating a light beam to a hit ball of a golf ball and a hitting ball of the golf ball irradiated with the light ray, as shown in FIG. Rows of light receiving elements 7, 8, 9 for receiving reflected light, circuit boards 3, 4 on which these light receiving and emitting elements are arranged, and boards 3, 4
And a diaphragm plate 6 having an optical path hole coaxial with the optical axis of the light receiving and emitting element, and a diaphragm plate 6 having an optical path hole that becomes a diaphragm for a received light beam in cooperation with the optical path hole formed in the box-shaped member 5. Consisting of Since this type of device is often used outdoors, in order to reduce the influence of external light, the light emitting unit 1 uses, for example, an infrared light emitting diode and irradiates it as a carrier wave of a constant frequency. The carrier frequency may be, for example, 455 kHz, which is generally easy to realize due to the distribution of filters. The row of the first light receiving elements 7 is an element row for detecting that the golf ball has been hit (see FIG. 3).
When the row receives the reflected light of the hit ball, the light emitting section 1 increases the irradiation light quantity of the light beam, and each light receiving element in the second and third light receiving elements 8, 9 outputs an electric quantity corresponding to the received light quantity.

[0007] The output electric quantity is calculated every sampling time.
After A / D conversion as a pair with the sampling time, it is stored in the memory. The rows of the second light receiving elements 8 have light receiving elements arranged at equal intervals, and are arranged in accordance with the maximum value in the sampling data of each of the light receiving elements 8, 8,... The upper ball passing position is calculated.
The row of the third light receiving elements 9 also plays the same role as the row of the second light receiving elements 8, and the line connecting the passing positions of the hit balls obtained in the rows of the respective elements 8, 9 forms an angle between the horizontal line and the hit ball. The speed of the hit ball is calculated from the difference between the obtained elevation angle, the known interval between the light receiving elements, and the time at which the maximum output of the light receiving element was obtained. The flying distance is calculated by the CPU 14 using the obtained values of the elevation angle and the velocity of the hit ball. The flight distance is displayed by display means such as the LCD 19. The outputs of the light receiving elements 8 and 9 are
It has been corrected in advance, for example, by receiving the reflected light of the light source against a white plate placed on a flat surface on the light receiving surface, so that the values output by each light receiving element when receiving the same amount of light are equal in each column. Has been adjusted.

Next, an actual measuring method will be described first with respect to the elevation angle of a hit ball. Normally, the light emitting unit 1 emits a light beam having a luminance based on the rated forward current of the infrared light emitting diode. When the batter hits the ball, the hit ball reaches the irradiation range 10 of the light emitting unit 1 and reflects the irradiation light (see FIG. 2). When the hit ball of the golf ball enters the light receiving area 11 of the row of the first light receiving elements 7, the reflected light of the hit ball is received by one or a plurality of light receiving elements in the row of the first light receiving elements 7, and the first light receiving element The electric quantity output from 7 is compared with a reference value, and when it is larger, the electric quantity is applied to the CPU 14 as a trigger signal. When the CPU 14 receives the trigger signal, the driver circuit 15 applies a rated peak forward current to the infrared light emitting diode of the light emitting section 1 to increase the light emission luminance, and the hitting of the second and third light receiving elements 8 and 9 with the hit ball is performed. Increase the amount of reflected light. In addition, sampling of the output electric quantity of each light receiving element in the second and third light receiving elements 8 and 9 is started by the trigger signal.

When the hit ball reaches the light receiving range 12 in the row of the second light receiving elements 8, the reflected light of the hit ball is received by the plurality of light receiving elements 8, 8,. Is done. At this time, the output of each light receiving element 8, 8,..., 8 is an electric quantity proportional to the distance between the hit ball and the light receiving element (voltage output in this embodiment). At each sampling time specified by the controller, the electric quantity of each light receiving element is simultaneously held by the sample hold circuit and the analog switch circuit 18, and after the numerical conversion by the A / D converter 20, the sampling time and the sampling time. The pairs are sequentially stored in the memory 17. The closer the hit ball is to the light receiving elements 8 and 9, the greater the amount of light received by the light receiving elements 8 and 9, so that the amount of electricity output increases. Assuming that the range of the initial velocity of the hit ball is 20 to 80 m / s, 0.75 if the interval between the rows of the second and third light receiving elements 8 and 9 is 60 mm.
At ~ 3.0 ms, the hit ball passes between the rows of the second and third light receiving elements 8 and 9. Therefore, if the sampling is repeated for 3 ms, the light receiving elements 8 and 9 can pass through almost all hit balls.
Can record the change in the amount of electricity output by When the sampling is completed, the CPU 14 reduces the applied current to the light emitting unit 1 to the rated forward current, and starts comparing numerical data stored in the memory. Since the numerical data of the light receiving element closer to the hit ball has a higher value, the sum of the numerical data is taken at each sampling time, and it is considered that the center of the hit ball was on the light receiving element row at the time when the sum was maximum, The numerical data at the time when the maximum numerical data was output for the light-receiving element that output the highest numerical data in the column and the elements A, B, and C on both sides thereof are extracted. Assuming that the maximum values output from the light receiving elements A, B, and C in the row of the second light receiving element 8 are a, b, and c (b> a, b> c), respectively, and that the light receiving element interval is P, The hit ball passing position Y2 is
BY2 bar = (ab-bc) P / (2 (2ac-bc-
ab)).

Since the position of the light receiving element B is known, the passing position Y2 of the hit ball may be obtained by adding a BY2 bar to the height of B. Similarly, the passing position Y3 of the hit ball can be calculated for the third light receiving element row. Since the row interval L between the second and third light receiving element rows 8 and 9 is known, the elevation angle θ of the hit ball is t
It can be calculated from anθ = (Y3-Y2) / L. What is obtained by sampling is a discrete position, and only the time at which the hit ball approaches the light receiving element row is obtained. The longer the sampling time interval or the higher the speed of the hit ball, the more the actual horizontal distance L Becomes longer, causing an error in the elevation angle θ. However, if the error of the elevation angle θ caused by sampling is kept within 1%, if the distance between the rows of the second and third light receiving elements 8 and 9 is 60 mm, 7
A sampling period of ms may be sufficient, and technically higher-speed sampling can be performed, so that sufficient accuracy can be ensured.

Next, the calculation of the speed will be described. The speed is calculated by using the elevation angle θ of the hit ball obtained by the above-described method, the interval P between the light receiving elements in the light receiving element row, and the time when each light receiving element is stored as a pair with the maximum output value. Assuming that the difference between the times when the sum of the numerical data becomes maximum in the second and third light receiving element rows 8 and 9 is t, the distance s that the hit ball has moved during t is s =
L / cos θ, the velocity v of the hit ball is v = L /
(T cos θ).

[0012]

According to the present invention, since the passing position of a hit ball can be specified, the elevation angle of the hit ball can be accurately measured, and the velocity of the hit ball is obtained from the moving distance of the hit ball calculated using the elevation angle. Can be improved in reliability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

 Fig. 1 Cutaway view of main part of flight distance measuring device Fig. 2 Top view of flight distance measuring device Fig. 3 Side view of flight distance measuring device Fig. 4 Block diagram Fig. 5 Positional relationship between light receiving element and hit ball Fig. 6 Output diagram of light receiving element Fig. 7 Explanatory drawing of a conventional flying distance measuring device

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 light-emitting section 2 light-receiving element array 3 circuit board 4 circuit board 5 box-shaped member 6 aperture plate 7 first light-receiving element 8 second light-receiving element 9 third light-receiving element 10 irradiation area of light-emitting section 11 of first light-receiving element Light receiving range of row 12 Light receiving range of row of second light receiving element

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A hitting ball comprising a light source and a light receiving element group in two rows for receiving reflected light of a light beam emitted from the light source. A flight distance measurement device for golf balls that measures the elevation angle and speed of a golf ball. 2. A trigger signal for triggering measurement is sent to the CPU when an arbitrary light-receiving element in the light-receiving element array receives reflected light when passing a hit ball, using the light-receiving element array and a trigger circuit. Golf ball flight distance measuring device.