WO1997045176A1

WO1997045176A1 - Sports training system

Info

Publication number: WO1997045176A1
Application number: PCT/US1997/009165
Authority: WO
Inventors: James Robert Markus Sanford
Original assignee: Helena Laboratories Corporation
Priority date: 1996-05-30
Filing date: 1997-05-30
Publication date: 1997-12-04

Abstract

A system measures and records deflection and/or movement of an elongated shaft such as the shaft (14) of a golf club (10), and provides a trace, diagram or pattern of the swing of the shaft (14). During swing of the golf club (10) deflection and/or movement of the golf club shaft (14) causes relative movement between a transducer (20), and a recorder (105), and a trace diagram or pattern of the golf club swing is created.

Description

SPORTS TRAINING SYSTEM

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. application No. 08/655,377 filed May 30, 1996, and is based on provisional application 60/019,522 filed June 10, 1996, and provisional application 60/019,523 filed June 10, 1996, all three of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Priority is claimed from all three of the aforementioned applications.

TECHNICAL HELD

This invention relates to sports training systems, and more particularly, to a sports training system which provides a permanent record for the user. The present system has particular utility in recording movement and /or deflection of a shaft such as a golf club shaft or a racquet of the type used for tennis, racquet ball, or squash. For simplicity, the invention will be described in the context of a sports training system for golf but this explanation should not be taken as a limitation on the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In swinging a golf club, it is important to have a swing which is consistent since measures can be taken to compensate for a "consistent" swing even if the swing is not a "perfect" swing. There are numerous sports training devices, usable for monitoring golf club swings, which are described in the patent literature. Examples are U.S. Patent No. 1,529,305 to Gatke; No. 2,995,376, to Leo; No. 3,180,308 to Carroll et al, No. 3,270,564, to Evans; No. 4,509,757, to Yuhara; No. 4,854,585 to Koch et al; No. 5,082,283, to Conley et al; No. 5,168,151, to Conley; No. 5,277,428, to Goodwin; and No. 5,435,561 to Conley. The disclosures of each of these patents are hereby incorporated by reference.

There is also at least one golf swing training aid on the market called the Medicus Club but this training device provides only information to the extent that the golf swing is left-or-right of the center line of the swing, when viewed from a position perpendicular to the golfer. Thus the Medicus Club device does not provide a record of a complete swing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is thus apparent that there is a need for a different type of sports training aid which provides a "picture" or trace or record of the complete golf swing.

The present invention accomplishes these and other objectives by providing a system for recording the deflection of an elongated shaft, such as the shaft of a golf club. The present system includes a data input means, which determines, measures, or otherwise provides an indication of the deflection and /or movement of the club shaft and a recording means to receive input from the data input means and record the shaft deflection.

The present invention further provides a system in which a data input means detects or otherwise provides an indication of the relative deflection or movement of a golf club shaft, and a recording station to make a trace or record of the indication of the relative deflection /movement of the golf club shaft.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing advantages of the present invention, together with other advantages which may be attained by its use, will become more apparent upon reading the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like reference numerals identify corresponding components: FIGURE 1 is a partial diagrammatic illustration of a golf club head including one form of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan illustration of the golf club head of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an illustration of another embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 4 is an illustration of another embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 5 is an illustration of still another embodiment of the invention; FIGURE 6 is an illustration of a trace or record or pattern of a golf club swing based on the deflection of the golf club shaft;

FIGURE 7 is a partial illustration of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 8 is a block diagram illustrating the conversion of the transducer output to a usable signal;

FIGURE 9 is an illustration of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 10 is a diagrammatic illustration of the use of a camera; and FIGURE 11 is another diagrammatic illustration of the use of a camera in connection with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to the drawings, a golf club 10 includes a handle 12, an elongated shaft 14, and a head 16. The handle 12 may, of course, be covered with a material to enhance the grip of the club as is conventional. It should be further pointed out that the invention is described in the context of a golf club shaft, however, the invention has utility on flexible shafts used in various sports. Thus, by way of example and not by way of limitation, the invention may be used as a training aid to help develop a consistent shaft movement or swing for baseball, all racquet sports, fly-casting, etc.

As may be appreciated from reading the following description, it is important to properly measure the movement, flexure or deflection of the shaft 14, as well as the plane of the swing of the shaft, using a movement /deflection transducer. However, the sports training system should not add appreciably to the overall weight of the golf club. Otherwise, the weight of the sports training system itself will cause a difference in the manner in which the user swings the golf club. Additionally, it is important that the present invention itself does not have substantial deflection relative to the deflection of the golf club shaft. Otherwise, the deflection of the present invention might provide an inaccurate measurement of the deflection or movement of the golf club shaft.

Data input means for movement detection or deflection detector means, also referred to as a deflection or movement transducer, are provided to detect or determine deflection or movement of the shaft 14. In the embodiment of Figure 1, a movement detector means 20 is positioned in the golf club head 16.

To better understand the benefits of the present invention, consideration should be given to Figure 6 which illustrates a trace or record or pattern of a golf club swing. The "X" and "Y" coordinates of a graph are illustrated, with the "X" coordinate being horizontal and the "Y" coordinates vertical. As conventional, the positive "X" direction is to the right of the vertical plane and the positive "Y" direction is upward relative to the "X" plane. As shown by the arrows in the trace or curve of Figure 4, the back swing starts at point 50 and continues first in the positive X direction and then, at region 51, a gradual reversal in the Y direction and then a gradual reduction or reversal in the X direction to a region 52, and then a further reduction in both the X and Y directions back to point 50, the origin. This represents the back swing. Thereafter, the trace continues in the negative Y direction, with no appreciable movement in the X direction, and then a gradual movement in the positive X direction to a region 53. Thereafter, the trace has a small movement in the positive X direction followed by a movement in the positive Y direction coupled with a movement negatively in the X direction back to the origin 50, where contact with the golf ball occurs if the entire swing is proper. Thus the swing trace included encloses a first portion 54 and encloses a second portion 55; the first portion corresponding to the deflection or movement during backswing and forward swing and the second portion 55 corresponding to continuation of the forward swing through ball contact. The "follow through" trace has been omitted for clarity. Should the vertical portion of the trace, from region 52 to region 53, not be along the "X = 0" portion of the graph, or not cross the "Y = 0" portion of the graph at point 50, this would indicate an improper downswing or impact, respectively. Variations in the shape of portions 54 and 55 will indicate other deviations from the "proper" golf swing. Successive swings recorded in a manner to permit comparison will indicate consistency or lack of consistency in the swing. Referring back Figure 1 and further considering Figure 2, a club head 16 is illustrated diagrammatically including accelerometers 100, 102 mounted relative to the head. In the illustrated embodiment the accelerometers are positioned in the club head. These accelerometers may be of the type made by Analog

Devices as Model ADXL50AH, and are connected via wires 104 to a data storage and/or data display 105. The accelerometers 100, 102 are positioned, for example, to respond to movement in the "X" and "Y" planes, respectively. The data storage may be a conventional RAM. The conventional RAM may, as an example, be a Cirrus Inc.

CL-PS 7110 MPU.

Figure 3 illustrates another embodiment where the accelerometers are mounted to a ring or donut shaped member 106 which is positioned on the shaft 14 of the golf club rather than in the head of the club. In Figure 3 the wires 104 are illustrated as being connected to a display device 108 such as a commercially available Seiko G191C LCD (liquid crystal display) device.

Figure 4 illustrates another embodiment of the sports training system where three accelerometers 100, 101 and 102 are mounted in the head 16 of the golf club and are connected by wires

104 to a data storage or data display. While the arrangement of Figure 1 provides a pattern or trace indicating movement relative to the X and Y axes, the arrangement of Figure 4 will provide a pattern of the movement relative to the X, Y and Z axes. Each of the axes is illustrated with a double-sided arrow in Figure 4.

Figure 5 illustrates another embodiment where three optical sensors 112 are mounted, 120° apart on a platform 40, and a light source 114 is provided on the shaft 14 adjacent the grip 12. The sensors 112 may be photocells and the device 114 a conventional light source which may be battery powered. Alternatively, the sensors 112 may be CCD's or photodiodes and the light source a smaller device such as a laser source. The platform 40 is attached to the golf club shaft, closer to the head than to the handle, but the specific positioning of the platform is dependent upon the requirements of the light source and sensors as is understood by those skilled in the art. The shifting of light intensity among the sensors 112 during the club swing is indicative of the shaft deflection. The output from sensors 112 may be by wires 104, as previously described, to a data storage/display. Alternatively, the output from the sensors may be radio-transmitted to a receiver. The present invention further contemplates the use of an infra-red light source and infra-red sensors. The output from the sensors provides the data for the same type of trace of the golf club shaft deflection as previously described.

Referring next to Figure 7, three strain gauges 116 are provided on the shaft 14. The strain gauges as illustrated are thin films affixed to the shaft at 120° spacing around the circumference of the shaft. Only two such films 116 are visible in the partial illustration of Figure 7. Again, the output may be transmitted via wires, optically, via infra-red, or via telemetry to a storage device and processed to provide a trace of the type generally illustrated in Figure 6. The strain gauges may be piezoelectric films or optical fibers or other suitable transducers. When photocells, CCD's, strain gauges or optical fibers are used, conventional converters may be used to convert the signal into the form usable to provide the trace of the type of Figure 6. In this regard, it should be appreciated that transducers provide an output proportional to the intensity of the phenomenon to which they are subjected. Figure 8 illustrates, in block form, a circuit diagram to convert the transducer output (e.g. from Figure 1, Figure 4, Figure 5, 3 or 7, by way of example and not by way of limitation) to a signal which is usable as a visual display or trace. The block diagram of Figure 8 includes a transducer 117 which may take the form of any of the transducers described in this application, or their equivalents. For example, the transducer 117 could be accelerometers, optical sensors, films, etc. The applicable transducer 117 is shown as the wires 104 which is provided as an input to an A to D converter 118 such as the microchip technology 4 channel 8 bit A to C deconverter

No. PIC 16C71. The output from the A to D converter, on lead 119, provides a signal to the data storage /display device. Again, the data storage /display device may be any of the types of displays described in this application and the equivalents. Referring next to Figure 9, in another embodiment, a camera

120 is provided on the shaft 14 of the golf club near the handle or grip 12. The camera may be a conventional, small video camera of the type manufactured by Edmund Scientific or the Model MB 750- P, manufactured by Polaris Industries of Atlanta, Georgia. As illustrated in greater detail in Figure 10, a golf club head 16 is illustrated as being moved from right to left in the direction of arrow 121, toward a golf ball 122. A target line or reference line 124 is illustrated as being drawn on the ground. As the club moves from left to right, in the direction of arrow 121, the camera 120 provides a video recording of the deflection of the club relative to the reference line 124.

Referring next to Figure 11, camera 120 mounted on the shaft 14 adjacent the grip 12 is directed at platform 40 (which has been previously described in the context of Figure 5). The camera may include a source of light which sends out a light beam 128 directed toward 3 optical sensors 112 on the platform 40. The optical sensors 112 provide differing amounts of light, depending upon relative deflection of the shaft, and the varying amounts of light are detected by the camera 120 which functions as a display device. The camera may be connected to a recorder, such as a video cassette recorder, to provide a permanent trace or record of the swing.

The foregoing is a complete description of the present invention. Many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of this invention. The invention, therefore, should be limited only by the following claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A sports training aid for recording deflection or movement of a shaft comprising: a deflection or movement transducer adopted to be mounted to said shaft to provide an output which is indicative of the varying deflection or movement of the shaft during substantially the entire swing of said shaft; and a recorder receiving the output from said deflection /movement transducer.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said transducer is selected from the group consisting of strain gauges, optical fibers, optical sensors, accelerometers, CCD's and photodiodes.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said recorder includes a display.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said recorder and said transducer are connected by wires.

5. The invention of claim 1 wherein said transducer is adapted to be removably mounted to said shaft.

6. The invention of claim 1 wherein said shaft is part of a golf club.

7. The invention of claim 6 wherein the transducer is mounted in the head of a golf club.

8. The invention of claim 1 wherein the transducer output indicates shaft deflection or movement in at least two planes.