US20200353318A1

US20200353318A1 - Sensor-embedded ball and system

Info

Publication number: US20200353318A1
Application number: US16/761,245
Authority: US
Inventors: Junya Tsutsumi; Tsuyoshi Ito; Shigeo FUJISAKI; Yoshio Kuniyoshi
Original assignee: Acrodea Inc
Current assignee: Acrodea Inc
Priority date: 2017-11-06
Filing date: 2018-11-05
Publication date: 2020-11-12
Also published as: WO2019088282A1; JP2019084009A

Abstract

A ball with a sensor incorporated therein is provided. The ball includes a first sensor including a multiaxial acceleration sensor, a first communication unit for wireless transmission of sensor data detected by the first sensor, and a battery for supplying electric power to the first sensor and the first communication unit. The first sensor includes a first multiaxial acceleration sensor housed at a position intended to be a center of gravity of the ball. Each of the first communication unit and the battery is arranged at a position out of the position intended to be a center of gravity.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a system including a ball with a sensor incorporated therein.

BACKGROUND ART

Patent Document 1 discloses a system having a ball with a first sensor incorporated therein. It includes a triaxial acceleration sensor or others. The ball includes a first communication unit for wireless transmission of sensor data detected by the first sensor. The system also has a mobile terminal. It includes a second communication unit to be paired with the first communication unit.
The mobile terminal includes a unit for acquiring external information. It indicates environment in which the paired ball moves alone. And, the terminal also includes a unit for associating the sensor data of the paired ball, which is obtained via the first communication unit and the second communication unit, with the external information to generate ball movement data of the paired ball.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS

Patent Literature

Patent Document 1: WO 2017/131133 A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

A system is required which can easily, as well as accurately, detect and record movement of a ball.
In order to accurately detect movement of the ball, it is conceivable to have hardware incorporated therein, which includes a wide variety of sensors. In addition to the sensors, however, a control equipment and a battery for making them in operation must also be incorporated in the ball. They are arranged in consideration of weight and balance.

Solution to Problem

One aspect of the present invention is a ball. It includes a first sensor including a multiaxial acceleration sensor, a first communication unit for wireless transmission of sensor data detected by the first sensor, and a battery for supplying electric power to the first sensor and the first communication unit.
In this ball, the first sensor includes a first multiaxial acceleration sensor housed at a position intended to be a center of gravity of the ball. Each of the first communication unit and the battery is arranged at a position out of the position intended to be a center of gravity.
In a ball or other spinning objects, preferential arrangement of a battery or other heavy objects at the center of gravity thereof makes it easy to reduce influence on spinning performance.
Accordingly, in a case that an acceleration sensor is incorporated in the ball, the acceleration sensor is arranged at a position out of the center of gravity thereof. When die ball spins during flight, centrifugal force causes acceleration acting as noise. It is often that the acceleration of the flight motion cannot be distinguished from the noise.
The inventors of the present application have found that this inhibits effective utilization of data of the acceleration sensor for analysis of movement of the ball during flight.
The number of rotations and the spinning axis during flight can be obtained by analyzing data of the multiaxial magnetic sensor, as disclosed in Patent Document 1. However, it is difficult even to accurately find out the flight distance without obtaining the acceleration of the flight motion.
In the ball of the present invention, the battery and the first communication unit are displaced from the position intended to be a center of gravity. And, the multiaxial acceleration sensor is arranged at the position intended to be a center of gravity. This enables to suppress influence of the centrifugal force, and thereby to acquire data including the acceleration of the flight motion.
The battery, the circuit board or others can be arranged at positions dispersed near the position intended to be a center of gravity, or symmetrical with respect to the position intended to be a center of gravity. The battery can also be divided into a plurality of small ones to be arranged in the same manner. One or more counterweights can be arranged in the same manner. These enables to suppress influence on spinning performance of the ball.
The multiaxial acceleration sensor arranged at the position intended to be a center of gravity realizes to suppress influence of the centrifugal force, and thereby to facilitate to obtain the acceleration of the flight motion from the data of the first multiaxial acceleration sensor.
In the ball having a core body which forms a central portion of the ball and which is made of rubber, cork, polystyrene foam or others, the first sensor, the first communication unit and the battery can be incorporated in the core body. Or, they can be sealed with a mold (or resin).
The first sensor can include a plurality of second multiaxial acceleration sensors arranged adjacent to the first multiaxial acceleration sensor arranged at the position intended to be a center of gravity.
In a manufacturing process, the position intended to be a center of gravity may slightly deviate (or shift) from designed one.
In addition, the ball may be slightly deformed during flight. This may cause the centrifugal force to greatly affect the data from the first multiaxial acceleration sensor.
The plurality of second multiaxial acceleration sensors arranged near the position intended to be a center of gravity enables to utilize data of the sensor the least affected by the centrifugal force. Also, obtained simultaneously from a plurality of acceleration sensors around the center of gravity enables also to remove a noise component caused by the centrifugal force.
The plurality of second multiaxial acceleration sensors can be arranged so that the first multiaxial acceleration sensor is at a body center position of them.
The plurality of second multiaxial acceleration sensors can be arranged at apices of a regular tetrahedron, or arranged at apices of a regular hexahedron.
The battery, the circuit board and other parts having relatively large weight (or mass) can be arranged around the position intended to be a center of gravity, and at apices of a regular tetrahedron, a regular hexahedron or other regular polygons with the position intended to be a center of gravity being at a body center thereof.
Another aspect of the present invention is a system. It has a mobile terminal that includes a second communication unit to be paired with the first communication unit of the above-described ball.
The mobile terminal includes a unit for generating ball movement data of the paired ball based on data of the first sensor of the paired ball obtained via the first communication unit and the second communication unit. And, it also includes a first function for using the data of the first sensor to calculate at least one of acceleration of flight motion, flight distance, and displacement amount during flight, concerning the paired ball.
The data from the acceleration sensor enables to trace movement of the ball during flight.
The first sensor can include a multiaxial magnetic sensor and/or a multiaxial gyro sensor. The mobile terminal can generate ball movement data including data from these sensors.
In a case that the first sensor includes a plurality of multiaxial acceleration sensors, the first function can include a function for using data of at least one of the plurality of multiaxial acceleration sensors included in the first sensor to cancel acceleration component caused by spinning of the paired ball.
The mobile terminal can include a unit for using at least one of the acceleration, the flight distance and the displacement amount to output a pitch type of the paired ball.
The mobile terminal can include a simulator for displaying appearance viewed from outside in a state in which the ball is moving, based on the ball movement data.
The mobile terminal can include a unit for causing a cloud server to store the ball movement data via the Internet.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method. In it, movement of a ball is monitored via a mobile terminal.
In the method, the first communication unit of the ball and the second communication unit of the mobile terminal are paired. And, the mobile terminal uses data of the first sensor of the paired ball, which is obtained via the first communication unit and the second communication unit, to calculate at least one of acceleration of flight motion, flight distance and displacement amount during flight, concerning the paired ball.
Another aspect of the present invention is a program. It is intended to be downloaded into a mobile terminal including a second communication unit to be paired with a first communication unit of a ball. It has a first sensor incorporated therein and including a multiaxial acceleration sensor, and the first communication unit incorporated therein for wireless transmission of sensor data detected by the first sensor.
This program includes instructions that cause the mobile terminal to function as a unit for using data of the first sensor of the paired ball, which is obtained via the first communication unit and the second communication unit, to calculate at least one of acceleration of flight motion, flight distance and displacement amount during flight, concerning the paired ball.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system using a ball with a sensor incorporated therein;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating schematic configuration of the ball with a sensor incorporated therein;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of hardware incorporated therein;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating functions implemented in the mobile terminal to be paired with the ball with a sensor incorporated therein; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating summarized processes of an application in the mobile terminal.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates au example of a system including a ball with a sensor incorporated therein. The system converts a pitch of a user into data to manage it via a cloud service.
This system 1 is a system in which a sensor incorporated in the ball 10 converts a state of a ball (or pitching) 5 that a user 2 pitches from a mound 3 toward a catcher 4 to data. It is managed from a cloud 30 via the mobile terminal 20 of the user.
The cloud 30 includes a computer network 31 such as the Internet, a server 35 connected to the computer network 31, and an online coaching system 40 connected to the computer network 31.
The server (or cloud server) 35 includes a user management function 36, a storage 37 for accumulating data for each user, a data management unit 38, and a data analysis unit 39 for performing ranking tabulation or others.
The online coaching system 40 includes a simulator 41 for using the data accumulated for each user in the server 35 to reproduce pitching of the user. And, it also includes a unit 43 for providing advice by a coach 42 with respect to the reproduced pitching of the user via the computer network 31.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the ball 10 with a sensor incorporated therein.
One example of the ball 10 is a baseball (or a regulation ball).
The ball 10 includes a core (or core body) 11 at a center thereof, which houses a capsule 13 containing hardware inside it and is made of rubber or cork. It also includes a wound yarn portion 12 a covering around the core 11, in the same manner as a normal baseball. Further, it includes a leather cover 12 b covering them at the outermost.
The core 11 includes a spherical capsule 13 made of resin which houses the hardware. It also includes an elastic layer, e.g., a rubber layer 11 a, covering the capsule 13.
The hardware is housed in the capsule 13. It is, in turn, covered with a material 11 a, which is the same as one originally used for a core of a ball. Thereby, the hardware is housed in the core 11. This enables to provide a ball 10 that causes no misalignment of the core, or no large misalignment of the core, even though it includes a sensor or other hardware.
The capsule 13 houses a sensor (or first sensor) 80 for detecting movement of the ball 10. It also houses a control board (or control unit) 17 on which a communication unit or others are installed. Further, it houses batteries 18 a and 18 b. They are configured to be housed at predesigned positions and postures. The capsule 13 is configured to cooperate with the rubber layer 11 a covering it, so as to make the entire weight and balance almost the same as those of a normal baseball (or regulation ball).
The capsule 13 can have a multilayer structure inside it. This enables to house each of the parts in it at a predetermined location with a predetermined posture. The inside of the capsule 13 can be sealed with a molding resin or others, after housing them.
FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic configuration of the hardware including a sensor 80 housed in the capsule 13.
The sensor (or first sensor, group of sensors) 80 includes multiaxial, e.g., triaxial, acceleration sensors 81 and 82 a to 82 c, It also includes a multiaxial, e.g., triaxial, gyro sensor 85. Further, it includes a multiaxial, e.g., triaxial, magnetic sensor 86. And, it also includes a sensor board 88.
The control board 17 includes a short-range wireless communication unit (first communication unit, e.g., BLE (Bluetooth® Low Energy)) 17 a. It also includes a microcomputer 17 h for control. Further, it includes a memory 17 c.
The capsule 13 includes a plurality of batteries 18 a and 18 b that supply electric power to the above-described hardware. It also includes a switch 16 for controlling on off of power supply.
In this example, in order to keep the weight and balance of the ball 10 with a sensor incorporated therein substantially the same as that of a conventional ball, the configuration of the hardware housed in the capsule 13 is simplified as much as possible. The batteries 18 a and 18 b are built-in type and disposable.
If a function for wirelessly or otherwise indirectly charging the battery becomes compact and lightweight enough to be housed within the core 11, it is also possible to provide a non-disposable type of a ball with a sensor incorporated therein.
In this example, the first sensor 80 houses the acceleration sensors 81 and 82 a to 82 d, the gyro sensor 85, and the geomagnetic sensor 86, separately. However, it can house a nine-axis sensor including a triaxial acceleration sensor, a triaxial gyro sensor, and a triaxial geomagnetic (or magnetic) sensor. It can also be a one-chip sensor.
The sensor 80 is arranged at the center 13 c of the interior of the capsule 13. The center 13 c of the capsule 13 is at the center of the core 11, i.e., the position intended as the center of gravity 10 g of the ball 10.
The two batteries 18 a and 18 b and the control board 17 are arranged around the sensor 80 so that the center 13 c of the capsule 13 is a center of mass (or center of gravity).
For example, the batteries 18 a and 18 b and the control board 17 as well as a counterweight (not shown) are arranged to abut on the inner surface of the spherical capsule 13 to form a substantially regular tetrahedron.
The arrangement inside the capsule 13 is not limited to this. Preferably, the sensor 80 is arranged at the center 13 c, and the batteries 18 a and 18 b and other hardware are arranged so that balance of their entire weight matches the center 13 c.
Preferably, the moment of inertia further matches.
The first sensor 80 includes a plurality of triaxial acceleration sensors 81 and 82 a to 82 d. The first acceleration sensor 81 is arranged at the center 13 c of the capsule 13, i.e., the position intended to be a center of gravity 10 g of the ball 10. The four second acceleration sensors 82 a, 82 h, 82 c and 82 d are arranged around the first acceleration sensor 81 and substantially adjacent to the first acceleration sensor 81.
Specifically, the four second acceleration sensors 82 a to 82 d are arranged at positions of the apices of a regular tetrahedron, or at positions near them. The first acceleration sensor 81, i.e., the center 13 c is at its body center position.
In a case that the capsule 13 is housed with respect to the ball 10 in an intended manner, the center 13 c of the capsule 13 coincides with the center of gravity 10 g of the ball 10. Thereby, the first acceleration sensor 81 hardly detects the acceleration caused by the centrifugal force, even though the ball 10 is spinning during flight.
Accordingly, the acceleration for the flight motion of the ball 10 can be detected.
Meanwhile, in a case that the capsule 13 is not housed with respect to the ball 10 in an intended manner, the center 13 c of the capsule 13 is shifted with respect to the center of gravity 10 g of the ball 10. It is likely that the center of gravity log is at a position between or among the first acceleration sensor 18 and one or more of the second acceleration sensors 82 a to 82 d arranged around it, that the center of gravity 10 g is at a position near one of the second acceleration sensors 82 a to 82 d, or that the center of gravity 10 g is at a position between or among some of the second acceleration sensors 82 a to 82 d.
Accordingly, it may be possible to obtain acceleration data with a little influence of the acceleration of the centrifugal force from one of the second acceleration sensors 82 a to 82 d.
In addition, data obtained from the first acceleration sensor 81 and one or more second acceleration sensors 82 a to 82 d may enable to cancel data related to the acceleration of the centrifugal force, and thereby to obtain acceleration data associated with the flight motion.
The number of the second acceleration sensors 82 a to 82 d can be further increased, if a room is within the capsule 13. For example, they can be arranged at apices of the hexahedron with the center 13 c of the capsule 13 is at a body center position thereof.
In this ball 10, the power switch 16 is connected to one of the acceleration sensors 81 and 82 a to 82 d. When detecting that the ball. 10 is thrown up and in a freefall state, it mediates electric power supply from the batteries 18 a and 18 h to the control board 17 and the other sensors of the sensor 80. Thereby, a measurement state is started.
The motion causing to turn the power switch 16 on is not limited to freefall. Other sensors can detect other motions, e.g., in which the ball 10 is spun, or in which the ball 10 is took and swung.
When data indicating that the ball 10 is moving is not detected from the sensor 80 for a predetermined period of time, the power switch 16 stops supplying electric power from the batteries 18 a and 18 b.
After the measurement is started, the microcomputer 17 b stores data (or sensor data) 51 detected by the sensor 80, e.g., the accelerations in the three axial directions, and the angular velocities in the three axial directions, and the geomagnetisms in the three axial directions, into the memory 17 c at a predetermined sampling intervals.
After the measurement is terminated, the microcomputer 17 h outputs the stored sensor data 51 via the wireless communication unit 17 a.
FIG. 4 illustrates configuration of the mobile terminal 20.
One example of the mobile terminal 20 is a smartphone. It includes a short-range wireless communication unit (or second communication unit, e.g., BLE (Bluetooth® Low Energy)) 21. It also includes a data communication unit 22 that sends and receives data via wireless LAN and/or cellular phone communication networks. Further, it includes a GPS 23 for positioning latitude and longitude. And, it includes an electronic compass 24 that can determine orientation. Also, it includes an acceleration sensor 25. It further includes a processor 26 that realizes various functions. And, it includes a memory 27. It also includes a display 28 a that is an input/output unit. Further, it includes a touch sensor 28 h. And, it includes a voice input/output unit 29.
The processor 26 follows instructions included in an application program (or APP, program, program product) 60 downloaded into the memory 27, to provide a function as a terminal for generation of ball movement data, and/or a terminal for analysis of behavior (or flight status) of the ball.
The processor 26 follows the program 60 to function as a unit 61 for pairing the communication unit (or first communication unit) 17 a incorporated in the ball 10 and the communication unit (or second communication unit) 21 of the mobile terminal 20. It also functions as a unit 62 for acquiring external information 52 indicating the environment in which the paired ball 10 moves alone. And, it further functions as a unit 63 for associating the sensor data 51 of the paired ball 10, which is obtained via the communication units 17 a and 21, with the external information 52 to generate ball movement data 55 of the paired ball 10.
The processor 26 further follows instructions included in the application program 60 to function as a unit 64 for analysis of the acceleration data of the ball 10. It also functions as a unit 65 for analysis of the spinning of the ball 10. Further, it functions as a unit 66 for outputting a pitch type based on the acceleration, an angle of the spinning axis, a ball velocity and the number of rotations of the ball 10. And, it functions as a simulator 67 for displaying appearance viewed from outside in a state in which the ball 10 is moving. Also, it functions as a unit 68 for analyzing a pitching motion. It further functions as a unit 69 for causing the ball movement data 55 made by integrating the sensor data 51 and the external information 52 to be stored (or uploaded) into the cloud server 35 via the Internet 31. And, it functions as a unit 70 for displaying a content supplied from the cloud server 35.
FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a schematic process (or method) for activating an application 60, acquiring sensor data 51 from the paired ball 10 via the mobile terminal 20, and generating hail movement data 55 of the paired ball 10, as well as analyzing movement of the paired ball 10.
In Step 101, the ball 10 with a sensor incorporated therein and a mobile terminal 20 are paired.
Specifically, the pairing unit 61 of the mobile terminal 20 pairs the first communication unit 17 a incorporated in the hall 10 and the second communication unit 21 of the mobile terminal 20.
This establishes unique correspondence between the specific ball 10 and the specific mobile terminal 20. Thereby, the external information 52 input into the paired mobile terminal 20 is associated with the sensor data 51 of the paired ball 10 in a one-to-one manner.
One mobile terminal 20 can be paired with a plurality of balls 10. In that case, a ball 10 to be pitched is selected from the paired balls 10, in Step 102.
Once the pairing sets one-to-one relationship between the mobile terminal 20 and the ball 10, external information 52 indicating the environment in which the ball 10 moves alone is acquired, in Step 103.
The unit 62 for acquiring external information acquires a pitching distance, a pitching direction, and position information (or latitude and longitude), as the external information 52 from the screen of the mobile terminal 20, a GPS 23 or others.
The position information concerning the pitching can indicate a position of pitching (or a mound). It can indicate a position of catching (or a home base). Or, it can indicate a position between them. It can indicate even a position that does not significantly away from the flight path of the ball 10.
The “pitching direction” can be automatically acquired by the unit 62 using the electronic compass 24 of the mobile terminal 20 to display orientation in which the mobile terminal 20 is facing, and by matching the direction of the mobile terminal 20 and the pitching direction.
After the external information 52 is set to the mobile terminal 20, the “start pitching” button displayed on the mobile terminal 20 is clicked, in Step 104.
This operation causes to send a command for starting to acquire the sensor data 51 and to store them into the memory 16 c, from the mobile terminal 20 to the paired ball 10 via the second communication unit 21 and the first communication unit 17 a.
After the pitching is over, the user 2 clicks the “pitching finished” displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal 20, in Step 105.
This operation causes to send a command for terminating the acquisition of the sensor data 51, from the mobile terminal 20 to the paired ball 10 via the second communication unit 21 and the first communication unit 17 a.
At the same time, a command is sent for sending the sensor data 51 stored in the memory 16 c to the mobile terminal 20. The generating unit 63, which is a function implemented by the application program 60 into the mobile terminal 20, acquires the sensor data 51 from the ball 10.
Hereinafter, the function implemented by the application program (or program product) 60 will be described as a function of the mobile terminal 20.
In Step 106, the generating unit 63 of the mobile terminal 20 associates the sensor data 51 acquired from the ball 10 and the external information 52 input into the mobile terminal 20 to generate ball movement data (or movement data) 55 of the paired ball 10.
The sensor data 51 includes acceleration data in three axial directions, gyro (or angular velocity) data in three axial directions, and geomagnetic data in three axial directions.
The external information 52 includes a pitching distance that the ball 10 moves, i.e., a distance from the mound 3 to the catcher 4, a pitching direction, and latitude and longitude information.
The ball movement data 55 can include the sensor data 51 as raw data, or as platinized or standardized data using the external information 52.
The sensor data 51 is information (or internal information) that can be acquired by the sensor 80 inside the ball 10. It is information necessary to reproduce movement of the ball 10 itself.
In order to reproduce the movement of the ball 10 with respect to the outside world, it is desirable to be able to acquire information such as a pitching distance, a pitching direction, and latitude and longitude information.
Meanwhile, in the hall 10 of the present example, the acceleration, which is a vector quantity, concerning the motion of the center of gravity of the ball as a mass point can be measured with eliminating influence of spinning. This enables to accurately find out the acceleration of the flight motion, which is acceleration as a vector quantity including the direction.
Thus, it is possible to use the acceleration to find out a flight distance, and/or to find out transition of the flight motion (or displacement amount which is a vector quantity including direction and amount).
Also, information of the geomagnetism can be acquired with the geomagnetic sensor 86 incorporated in the ball 10.
Thus, it can be reproduced from the sensor data 51 how the ball 10 is moving with respect to the outside world.
In addition, verification of the information obtained by the sensor 80 of the ball 10 with the information obtained by the mobile terminal 20, and complementation of information not obtained by the sensor 80 of the ball 10 by some condition with the information obtained by the terminal 20 is important for evaluating the information and ensuring stability of the system 1.
In Step 107, the uploading unit 69 of the mobile terminal 20 uploads the movement data 55 to the cloud server 35 via the data communication unit 22.
The movement data 55 of this example includes the external information 52 for analyzing the pitching, and raw data (or RawData) which is the sensor data 51 as it is acquired from the sensor 80.
Accordingly, uploading the movement data 55 to the cloud server 35 enables to analyze the movement data 55 in a variety of manners, and to utilize the moving data 55 for a wide variety of applications.
In addition, if analysis methods are improved, this will enable to reanalyze the movement data 55 in the improved methods.
In this mobile terminal 20, in addition to uploading the movement data 55, the pitching can be evaluated in situ in Step 108, based on the information obtained from the sensor data 51 and the external information 52.
The pitching can be analyzed and evaluated based on the movement data 55 including the sensor data 51 and the external information 52, and accumulated in the memory 27. The pitching can be analyzed and evaluated based on the sensor data 51 and the external information 52 obtained at that time.
The evaluating step 108 includes a step 108 a for analyzing acceleration, a step 108 b for analyzing spin, and a step 108 c for finding out pitch type.
In the analyzing step 108 a of acceleration, the unit 64 for analyzing acceleration evaluates and analyzes the data of the acceleration sensors 81 and 82 a to 82 d included in the sensor data 51.
In a case that noise (or ripple) is determined as small, which is caused by the centrifugal force and included in the data of the first acceleration sensor 81 arranged at the position intended as the center of gravity 10 g of the ball 10, enough not to affect obtaining data of the acceleration caused by air resistance during flight or others, the data of the acceleration is used to find out transition of velocity with respect to the flight distance of the ball 10 during flight.
In a case that the acceleration data includes acceleration data in a direction in which the flight motion changes, the data is integrated to find out displacement (or displacement amount) of the flight motion.
On the other hand, in a case that the unit 64 for analyzing acceleration determines that noise (or ripple) is large, which is caused by the centrifugal force and included in the data of the first acceleration sensor 81, it evaluates data of the second acceleration sensors 82 a to 82 d.
The unit 64 either employs the data of the acceleration sensor with the smallest noise of the plurality of acceleration sensors 82 a to 82 d, or uses the data of the plurality of acceleration sensors to perform a process for canceling noise (or acceleration component) caused by the centrifugal force. Thereby, it generates acceleration data of the flight motion of the hall 10.
In Step 108 b for analyzing spin, the unit 65 for analyzing spin finds out to what extent (or how many times) the ball 10 has spun in the movement period.
Specifically, it calculates the number of rotations Pr based on the number of oscillations of the geomagnetic data of the sensor data 51.
In a case that the ball 10 spins perpendicular to the geomagnetism, the number of rotations Pr cannot be acquired. However, the case hardly occurs when the target is a ball pitched by a pitcher.
In step 108 c for finding out a pitch type, the unit 66 for finding out a pitch type finds out what angle the spinning axis of the ball 10 has with respect to the horizontal plane and the travelling direction of the ball 10.
In addition, it refers to the acceleration transition and the displacement amount during flight of the ball 10 to find out the pitch type.
For example, it is enabled that a displacement amount at hand of the catcher expresses how degree the ball has curved leftward, rightward, upward, or downward in comparison with freefall motion under vacuum, after the ball is released from the hand of the pitcher until the ball reaches the catcher.
In addition, since the acceleration in the flight direction of the ball 10 can also be measured, the deceleration of the ball or others can also be calculated. Thereby, transition of velocity including “initial velocity” and “final velocity” can also be observed.
Accurate measurement of the acceleration of the flight motion enables to know the velocity of the ball during flight. Thereby, the flying distance and velocity of the balls 10 can be measured without external input of the flying distance.
Thus, the velocity can be measured for a free distance.
The method described in Patent Document 1 can be used for finding out the magnetic dip from the geomagnetic sensor 86 or the position information included in the external information 52, analyzing the data of the geomagnetic sensor 86, and finding out the number of rotations and the direction of the spinning axis.
The pitch type determination unit 66 uses the ball velocity Pv, the number of rotations Pr, and the angle of the spinning axis to identify a pitching type of the pitched ball 10.
In Step 108 for evaluating the pitching, the evaluation is not limited for the latest pitching. The evaluation can also be performed for a pitching accumulated in the mobile terminal 20. Further, the evaluation can also be performed for a past pitching in the same manner as described above by downloading data of the pitching from the cloud server 35.
In addition, in Step 109, the simulator 67 simulates and displays movement of the ball 10 viewed from outside based on the ball movement data 55.
Further, in Step 110, the unit 68 for analyzing the pitching motion can utilize information of the sensor data 51 before the ball 10 is released, to evaluate the pitching motion.
The application 60 (or mobile terminal 20) further includes a unit 70 for supplying content.
This unit 70 provides a result of analysis of the movement data 55 for each user collected in the cloud server 35, a result of ranking tabulation for all users, a result of comparison with the pitching of the professional baseball player, or others, via the mobile terminal 20 to the user 2.
In a case that the ball is intended to spin at high speed, the maximum number of rotations is expected to be about 3500 rpm, e.g., in a regulation ball applicable for professional baseball. Considering the measurement range of the current acceleration sensor, the error of the acceleration sensor 81 from the center of gravity 10 g is needed to be set to about 1 mm or less.
In a case that the size of the acceleration sensor is about 2 mm, it is difficult to arrange the plurality of acceleration sensors in or around the area intend to be the center of gravity 10 g.
In a case that the acceleration sensor 81 is arranged at the center of gravity 10 g but there is a small displacement, the centrifugal force is detected when the ball 10 is spinning. However, when it falls within the measurement range of the acceleration sensor 81, the centrifugal force can be canceled by numerical processing.
In addition, it is also important to realize the same physical properties as the ball core of an actual regulation ball in the professional baseball.
Therefore, it is important that the acceleration sensor 81 is placed to the center of gravity 10 g, the center of gravity 10 g and the center 13 c of the core 11 coincides, the moments of inertia of the hardware within the capsule 13 and the capsule 13 itself around the center of gravity 10 g are equal in all axes, and the mass of the core 11 including the capsule 13 is equal to the regulated value (currently 20 g).
Desirably, hardness, elasticity, damping rate of the vibration, and other properties of the core 11 are the same as those of the regulation ball of the professional baseball specification, or within the regulated range.
Therefore, it is preferable to consider that the circuit board 88 with the acceleration sensor 81 installed is arranged on the plane passing through the center of gravity 10 g, the component-side face of the circuit board 88 (a face on which the acceleration sensor is arranged) faces toward the cell 18 a or 18 b to be arranged as closely to the center of gravity 10 g as possible, or the circuit board 88 is provided with a hole for installing the acceleration sensor 81 therein to be arranged as close to the center of gravity 10 g as possible, only the acceleration sensor 81 is arranged on a flexible circuit board to be arranged as close to the center of gravity 10 g as possible, and so on.
A sensor device may be provided with the gyro sensor 85 and/or the geomagnetic sensor 86 as a sensor other than the acceleration sensor 81. What is needed to be designed to be arranged at the center of gravity 10 g is not the center of the sensor device, but the acceleration sensor 81 within the sensor device.
The number of the batteries can also be one. In that case, it is preferable to arrange the battery out of a range in which it interferes with the acceleration sensor 81, but as close to the center of gravity 10 g as possible, so as to reduce the moment of inertia around the center of gravity.
In a case that two batteries 18 a and 18 b are used, it is preferable to sandwich the acceleration sensor 81, which is arranged at the center of gravity 10 g, between them. Thereby, they are arranged as close to the center of gravity 10 g as possible, so as to reduce the moment of inertia around the center of gravity.
Further, it is preferable to adjust the thickness of the outer shell rubber Ha covering the outside of the capsule casing 13 in three dimensions by moldings, so as to balance of the moment of inertia around the center of gravity 10 g.
Further, it is also possible to adjust the wall thickness of the capsule casing 13 in three dimensions within a range in which its strength is not affected, so as to balance the moment of inertia.
It is also preferable to arrange one or more counterweights so that the moment of inertia around the center of gravity is equal.
In a case that the ball is allowed to adjust the center of gravity after manufacture by repositioning the position of the core 11, by arranging the counterweight, by repositioning the position of the counterweight, or otherwise, the position of the center of gravity can be adjusted by spinning the ball and verifying the output of the acceleration sensor 81 arranged at the position intended to be a center of gravity 10 g.
In addition, in a case that the ball is allowed to adjust the position of the capsule 13, which houses the acceleration sensor or other hardware, the position of the capsule 13 can be finely adjusted by spinning the ball and verifying the output of the acceleration sensor 81 arranged at the position intended to be a center of gravity 10 g.
The above example is described for a baseball with a sensor incorporated therein. However, it should be noted that the baseball can be hard or soft, also may be a softball.
In addition, the present invention can be applied by incorporating a sensor at the center (or the center of gravity) of a ball for cricket, a ball for bowling, a golf ball, a football, a volleyball, or a ball for other sports, in a golf ball, it can be used for training of putting, in which the impact applied to the ball is low, for example.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

- 10: Ball.

Claims

1. A ball comprising:

a first sensor including a multiaxial acceleration sensor;

a first communication unit for wireless transmission of sensor data detected by the first sensor; and

a battery for supplying electric power to the first sensor and the first communication unit,

wherein the first sensor includes a first multiaxial acceleration sensor housed at a position intended to be a center of gravity of the hall, and

wherein each of the first communication unit and the battery is arranged at a position out of the position intended to be a center of gravity.

2. The ball of claim 1, further comprising

a core body forming a central portion of the ball,

wherein the first sensor, the first communication unit and the battery are incorporated in the core body.

3. The ball of claim 1,

wherein the first sensor includes a plurality of second multiaxial acceleration sensors arranged adjacent to the first multiaxial acceleration sensor arranged at the position intended to be a center of gravity.

4. The ball of claim 3,

wherein the plurality of second multiaxial acceleration sensors include a plurality of second multiaxial acceleration sensors arranged so that the first multiaxial acceleration sensor is at a body center position thereof.

5. A system comprising a mobile terminal that includes a second communication unit to be paired with the first communication unit of the ball according to claim 1,

wherein the mobile terminal includes:

a unit for generating ball movement data of the paired ball, based on data obtained from the first sensor of the paired ball via the first communication unit and the second communication unit; and

a first function for using the data from the first sensor to calculate at least one of acceleration of flight motion, flight distance, and displacement amount during flight, concerning the paired ball.

6. The system of claim 5,

wherein the first sensor includes a plurality of multiaxial acceleration sensors, and

wherein the first function includes a function for using data of at least one of the plurality of multiaxial acceleration sensors included in the first sensor to cancel an acceleration component caused by spinning of the paired ball.

7. The system of claim 5,

wherein the mobile terminal includes a unit for using at least one of the acceleration, the flight distance and the displacement amount to output a pitch type of the paired ball.

8. The system of claim 5,

wherein the mobile terminal includes a simulator for displaying appearance viewed from outside in a state in which the ball is moving, based on the ball movement data.

9. The system of claim 5,

wherein the mobile terminal includes a unit for causing a cloud server to store the ball movement data via the Internet.

10. A system comprising a ball according to claim 1.

11. A method for monitoring movement of a ball via a mobile terminal, the ball including a first sensor that includes a first multiaxial acceleration sensor housed at a position intended to be a center of gravity of the ball, and a first communication unit for wireless transmission of sensor data detected by the first sensor, the mobile terminal including a second communication unit, the method comprising:

pairing the first communication unit of the ball and the second communication unit of the mobile terminal, and

using, by the mobile terminal, data of the first sensor of the paired ball obtained via the first communication unit and the second communication unit to calculate at least one of acceleration of flight motion, flight distance and displacement amount during flight, concerning the paired ball.

12. The method of claim 11,

wherein the first sensor includes a plurality of second multiaxial acceleration sensors arranged adjacent to the first multiaxial acceleration sensor, and

wherein the calculating includes using data of at least one of the plurality of the multiaxial acceleration sensors included in the first sensor to cancel an acceleration component caused by spinning of the paired ball.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising

using at least one of the acceleration, the flight distance and the displacement amount to determine a pitch type of the paired balls.

14. A program to be downloaded into a mobile terminal including a second communication unit to be paired with a first communication unit of a ball having a first sensor incorporated therein and including a multiaxial acceleration sensor and the first communication unit incorporated therein for wireless transmission of sensor data detected by the first sensor,

the program comprising instructions that cause the mobile terminal to function as a unit for using data of the first sensor of the paired ball obtained via the first communication unit and the second communication unit to calculate at least one of acceleration of flight motion, flight distance and displacement amount during flight, concerning the paired ball.