Shot Monitoring Watch
Contents
1. 473 231 234 taneously monitored and is similarly housed in the watch 473 221 227 housing or casement The detected parameters are displayed See application file for complete search history on a LCD which is part of the instrumentation Finally the calculated values of the swing components can be saved in the 56 References Cited memory of the invention Subsequent swings are compared U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 4 058 118 A 11 1977 Stupay et al 4 222 569 A 9 1980 DeMascolo 4 269 193 A 5 1981 Eckerle 4 307 727 A 12 1981 Haynes 4 331 154 A 5 1982 Broadwater et al 4 387 437 A 6 1983 Lowrey et al 4 409 983 A 10 1983 Albert 4 987 900 A 1 1991 Eckerle et al 5 261 412 A 11 1993 Butterfield et al 5 406 952 A 4 1995 Barnes et al 5 511 789 A 4 1996 Nakamura with those saved and the degrees to which later swings con form or deviate from the values for the saved swing are displayed The subject invention has a skill level setting 1 to 5 where 1 is the highest skill level 5 the least As the skill level setting approaches 1 there is a much narrower range of tol erance for deviations Thus the match between the trial or subsequent swing and that saved in the memory ofthe subject invention must be nearly exact Conversely lower skill level settings are more forgiving and offer a wider tolerance for deviation from the saved values of the swing components 13 Claims 3 Drawing Sheets SAVE BUTTON DISPLAY AUDIBLE A2. the user s skill level is assumed to decrease Functionally this translates to a highest level of precision or exactness required of the 00 handicap user or Scratch Golfer as opposed to a more forgiving standard the higher the handicap The AUDIBLE ALERT ON OFF BUTTON 101 acti vates the signaling device that will sound or buzz when the user fails to replicate the swing he or she has saved following the swing that produced the results needed to replicate the saved or benchmark swing In particular on a driving range a golfer will hit a sequence of golf shots Presumable only longest and the straightest one of those shots will be saved The user accomplishes this by simply pressing the SAVE BUTTON 103 The data from the saved shot is compared to values recorded by the invention on subsequent shots Depar tures from the saved values are detected and the audible signal is activated 101 The DISPLAY TOGGLE BUTTON 102 is manually pressed at two different stops A lighter touch activates the display of the tempo or elapsed time of the swing variable in milliseconds The timing sequence for the interval begins with the start ofthe back swing and finishes when the club end first begins to slow drop or decelerate Theoretically and empirically this is precisely at the instant of impact ofthe club head with the ball When the user depresses the DISPLAY TOGGLE BUTTON 102 with slightly more pressure the maximum club head speed will be d
3. is a centuries old game with a long and well docu mented history Until very recently say the last 25 years the equipment used was rather basic if not primitive Now that modern technology has come into the game the equipment and apparatuses dedicated to the game are becoming more and more technologically advanced or sophisticated Globally there are over 100 million golfers A significant percentage of this number are what are called avid golfers not just in terms of playing frequently but also relative to the lengths to which they will go to improve their ability There is some vague correlation between proficiency and satisfaction Improving one s swing is one of the ways golfing enthusi asts can increase their proficiency There are special clubs weights video tapes and many other techniques for utiliza tion during practice rounds or driving range sessions The extant learning devices are primarily based on the feedback the golfer receives from them and thus learn the correct tech nique while avoiding wrong techniques One of the more subtle difficulties encountered by most golfers is the timing and speed of the swing There is no absolutely correct tempo or speed of the swing Trial and error is the only reliable way to discover the swing that produces a long straight shot Once that discovery is made the golfer 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 needs to development muscle and tempo memory in
4. order to repeat the swing and hence replicate the desired result One device known in the art that helps the golfer in some sense memorize and repeat the same golf swing that produces the desired result is a glove worn on the hand of the user as described in U S Pat No 5 733 201 by the same inventor While the glove unit is a highly accurate and desirable device it has the inherent drawback that it is in the form of a glove The glove is not interchangeable to allow use by either a right handed or left handed golfer there is significant varia tion in sizing and the glove can not be made as durable as the monitoring instrumentation attached to it SUMMARY OF THE INSTANT INVENTION The instant invention is directed to a training device in the form of a wrist watch The timing or tempo of a golfer s club swing is detected by a motion sensor or accelerometer housed in a watch casement The elapsed time of the swing and club head speed are captured via activation at the beginning of the swing and termination of the time interval is determined as being at the point of contact with the ball The elapsed time in milliseconds and the club head speed in miles per hour are digitally displayed on the watch face The grip pressure is measured by an electric piezo like sensor deployed behind a metal plate on the back of the watch The watch is tightly secured to the wrist and in contact with the pulse pressure points As the golfer s grip tightens the
5. shell stock of chips Our requirements are for 16 bit CPU with enough memory to support our sophisticated software programs Some models come ready equipped or preloaded with Analog to Digital Converters A D Converter 304 Power Supply 1 and 2 301 Two 3 CR2025 lithium long life batteries power the invention As the technology of bat teries improves driven by the demands from the high tech fields of hand held computers and telecommunications devices longer lasting and more powerful miniature batter ies will become available Akey pad 302 is connected to the controller 350 in order to apply selective control signals such as limit adjustments sensitivity adjustments and the like to the operation of the circuitry The keypad 302 can also include the reset buttons described supra The keypad 302 can be included in the hous ing for the package in FIG 1 noted above The chronometer 303 is representative of a suitable timing or tempo measuring device The chronometer is connected to an A D converter 304 of conventional design A typical A D converter device has an 8 bit resolution and converts the analog signal from the timing device to a digital signal which is then supplied to the microcontroller 450 and may be contained in the micro con troller A suitable display 305 for example a liquid crystal display LCD is connected to receive output signals from the micro controller 350 Display 305 represents one or more of the displays
6. 201 and 202 shown in FIG 2 The LCD display 305 is of typical design but may be custom made in order to provide any desirable display information such as that shown and described relative to FIG 2 Of course the display 305 can be an LED display or any other type of display which is of suitable size and within suitable power parameters As noted an accelerometer 306 can be housed in a wrist watch case along with the other devices The accelerometer 306 can be included in a unitary package along with all of the other materials and components of the system One such US 8 123 624 B2 5 accelerometer is the ADXL202 by Analog Devices which is two directional and therefore capable to measuring accel eration in both positive and negative ranges In this system the back swing will be registered in the negative range while the down swing will register the acceleration of the club head At the point of contact with the ball maximum club head in units of MPH will be attained stored in memory and selec tively displayed The club head will decelerate on the follow through Typically the accelerometer is of conventional design and is aligned with the direction of the swing The accelerometer measures the force of the swing usually within an accelera tion rate of 0 to 5 g s The accelerometer 306 also produces an analog electrical signal which is supplied to A D converter 304 for conversion into a digital signal This digital signal is pre
7. 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 related to the operation of the accelerometer 306 This pro gram supplies the value of the club speed head in SPEED to display 305 The program is reset by the SAVE BUTTON 103 The speed or velocity of subsequent swings is compared to that stored in memory If the speed is within the range of tolerance determined by the HANDICAP SET 104 no error signal is generated If on the other hand the club speed is significantly different than the saved parameter the AUDIBLE ALERT 101 signal is activated Program 2 measures the elapsed time of the golf club swing and drives the display 327 This Program is logically identical to Program 1 Both Programs loop back to START when the START BUTTON 100 is pressed The preset values for both the speed and the elapsed time remain in memory until they are reset with the SAVE BUTTON 103 Program 3 measures grip pressure and is logically iden tical to the previous two Operation of the Shotwatch In operation the user turns the power on by pressing the START BUTTON 100 Next the HANDICAP is set Initially the handicap window will display 00 The range of values are from 01 to 40 for the HANDICAP SET BUTTON When the value displayed in Setting the handicap value estab lishes the range of tolerances for all subsequent measure ments High handicap golfers will not be able to exactly replicate their swing on successive tries while l
8. LARM BUTTON US 8 123 624 B2 Page 2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 7 264 554 B2 9 2007 Bentley 7 341 561 B2 3 2008 Tanaka et al Son N eid ae 7 600 430 B2 10 2009 Palin et al 5 688 183 A 11 1997 Sabatino etl 473 212 ED M 3 2910 cad 5 733201 A 3 1998 Caldwell et al 7 839 383 B2 11 2010 Lietal 5771492 A 6 1998 Cozza 2001 0005695 1 6 2001 Lee etal 473 221 5 807 267 A 9 1998 Bryars et al 2001 0053720 1 12 2001 Leeetal 473 223 5 873 788 A 2 1999 Hoffman 2002 0077189 Al 6 2002 Tuer et al 5 895 326 A 4 1999 Cozza et al 2004 0216216 Al 11 2004 Terris et al 5 907 282 A 5 1999 Tuorto et al 2005 0113167 Al 5 2005 Buchner et al 6 037 703 A 3 2000 Kambe et al 2005 0119036 1 6 2005 Albannaetal 463 7 6 196 932 3 2001 Marsh etal 473 223 2007 0010341 Al 1 2007 Miettinen et al 6 224 493 B1 5 2001 Leeetal 473 223 2009 0163824 Al 6 2009 Ide et al 6 401 254 Bl 6 2002 Boller 6 402 634 B2 6 2002 Leeetal 473 223 FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 6 491 647 Bl 12 2002 Bridger et al 6172442 Bl 82004 Bike r 08173586 A 71996 6 913 559 B2 7 2005 Smith 7 101 287 B1 9 2006 Wagner cited by examiner U S Patent Feb 28 2012 Sheet 1 of 3 US 8 123 624 B2 FIGURE 1B U S Patent Feb 28 2012 Sheet 2 of 3 US 8 123 624 B2 FIGURE 2a and 2b 200 Speed Time and Grip Arrows indicate whether swing is over plus or under minus t
9. US008123624B2 a2 United States Patent 10 Patent No US 8 123 624 B2 Caldwell 45 Date of Patent Feb 28 2012 54 SHOT MONITORING WATCH 5 551 437 A 9 1996 Lotscher 5 581 484 A 12 1996 Prince 76 Inventor Theodore Weissenburger Caldwell 5 388919 AC 12 1396 Nakamura Laguna Beach CA US Continued Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS patent is extended or adjusted under 35 DE 2846010 A 4 1980 U S C 154 b by 437 days Continued 21 Appl No 11 243 699 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Tekscan FlexiForce R Sensors User Manual Rev Feb 5 2009 22 Filed Oct 6 2005 Primary Examiner David L Lewis 65 Prior Publication Data Assistant Examiner Eric M Thomas US 2006 0199659 A1 Sep 7 2006 S 57 ABSTRACT Related U S Application Data A golf swing monitoring system in the form of a one piece 2s ee wrist mounted unit which includes multi function instrumen 60 eye application No 60 657 999 filed on Mar tation with extremely high degrees of precision that monitors a plurality of critical components of a golf swing In particu 51 lar motion sensors that discriminate finite changes in the Ex timing and speed of the swing are disposed in a housing A63B 57 00 2006 01 mounted on a wrist bank analogous to a common wrist watch 52 WU SSCk anie tree eere tde 473 221 Or timepiece A third component user grip pressure is simul 58 Field of Classification Search
10. have demonstrated that maximum club head speed is regis tered at the moment of contact between the club head and the ball At this instant the timing device stops running and records and displays the elapsed time from the point when the golfer first begins the back swing and ends takes hold of the club when contact is made with the ball The accelerometer is also activated on the back swing The speed of the club head which is derived from a semi log transform ofhand speed is measured in negative ranges until the top of the swing In the downswing the club head gains speed or momentum until contact with the ball at which instant deceleration begins The device records and displays the maximum speed obtained Basically the invention is recording non discrete continu ous data of the type depicted in a curve For example the path of the club head through a range of speeds This is also the case with respect to the grip pressure measurement The invention converts that analog data to a digital format assigns meaningful values to the converted digital date i e GRIP SPEED and TIME and stores and displays those digital val ues FIG 4 is a schematic representation of a flow chart for the operation of the circuit In one embodiment this flow chart is representative of the fuzzy logic operation of the micropro cessor 350 Typically the flow chart shows two related sub routines processed by microcomputer 350 Program 1 is 20
11. he pre settings 201 Large numerals are realized values for club head velocity mph elapsed time oft swing m secs and the constancy of grip pressure exerted 202 Handicap is self designated settings based on the user s estimated golfing expertise where 00 is best 99 is worst 203 Battery life is indicated by Hilumination 204 Audible Alert Volume indicator 202 Pu U S Patent Feb 28 2012 Sheet 3 of 3 US 8 123 624 B2 ACCELEROMETER 806 PROGRAMI VELOCITY PROGRAM 3 GRIP PRESSURE SAVE PSL ET GT 49 OR LTO SAVE SAVE SPEED PSI GIG OR LT SAVE SPEED GTC OR LT SAVE FALSE RESART TRUE ACTIVATE ALARM ACTIVATE ALARM ACTIVATE ALARM FIG 4 US 8 123 624 B2 1 SHOT MONITORING WATCH This application claims the benefit of the filing of U S Provisional Patent Application Ser No 60 657 999 entitled SHOTWATCH filed on Mar 3 2005 and the specification of that application is incorporated herein by reference As distinct from Sabatino et al U S Pat No 5 688 183 the timing device and the swing velocity monitor is not dependent upon any audible signal for activation Sabatino et al rely upon the noise or sound generated when the club strikes the ball and the recording or detection of the impact noise is the start time for speed and duration measurements The present invention commences the measurement of s
12. ing alarm means electrically connected to said monitoring cir cuitry 7 The swing monitoring watch of claim 6 wherein the alarm means comprises alarm means configured to selec tively provide an audible alarm signal 8 The swing monitoring watch of claim 6 wherein the alarm means comprises alarm means configured to selec tively provide a visual alarm signal 9 The swing monitoring watch of claim 1 comprising switch means for selectively controlling the operation of said electronic monitoring circuitry 10 The swing monitoring watch of claim 9 wherein the switch means comprises switch means configured to reset switches connected to said electronic monitoring circuitry and to said display 11 The swing monitoring watch of claim 1 comprising position marking means on the front of said watch to assist in the positioning of a golf club relative to said strap during a golf swing 12 The swing monitoring watch of claim 1 wherein the accelerometer comprises a two axis accelerometer that pro vides signals to the monitoring circuitry to determine hand speed of a golf swing and elapsed time of a golf swing from take away or backswing to contact between a golf club and a golf ball 13 The swing monitoring watch of claim 1 wherein the piezo sensor comprises a strain gauge configured to provide forthe generation of signals responsive to changes in circum ference ofthe wrist caused by muscle movement the genera tion of signals for registeri
13. isplayed in miles per hour FIG 2 is a representation of the LCD layout of the instant invention Reference is made concurrently to FIGS 1 and 2 As noted in the legend accompanying FIG 2 the Speed and Time Arrows 200 indicate whether the trial shot that is shots or swings taken after the reference or benchmark swing has been saved replicate the benchmark shot The Arrows 200 indicate the direction of the error or deviation from the presetting in either above plus the presetting or below it minus The actual obtained values for club head speed and for elapsed time of the shot are displayed on the face ofthe LCD or watch face 201 The speed is expressed as miles per hour The calibration ofthe speed was achieved through field trials where several extant speed measurements instruments mostly radar based were used to validate the accuracy of the instant invention A reliability coefficient of 0 90 was used as final assessment criterion As pointed out the HANDICAP SET 202 is user desig nated As the user s skill level improves and the HANDICAP SET 202 approaches 00 the margin of error can be dimin ished to the point where virtually no deviation from the 0 5 20 35 40 45 55 65 4 benchmark setting be detected Conversely the beginner might care to set the HANDICAP SET 202 at a high or mid range point range say 15 to 30 At these settings the invention allows a wide margin or e
14. its simplest form attempts to get the learner to repeat what he or she does right and secondly be made aware of depar tures or deviations from the correct action on subsequent trials The golfer on the driving range can use the invention with any club wood iron wedge or putter Following a swing he or she wishes to repeat the device will remember the values obtained For example one is hitting with a driver Immedi ately after a long straight shot the golfer merely presses the SAVE BUTTON and the variables will be placed in memory A signal will be transmitted either a buzz or a red light when the golfer deviates from those preset values on the next swing or swings Depending on the golfer s competence as determined by the Handicap setting which can take on values US 8 123 624 B2 7 between 00 and 40 a very good or scratch golfer with a handicap of 00 will get an error signal with only minute departures from the preset values while higher handicap golfers will have a much greater margin or error Thus there is shown and described a unique design and concept of a golf training strap While this description is directed to a particular embodiment it is understood that those skilled in the art may conceive modifications and or variations to the specific embodiments shown and described herein Any such modifications or variations which fall within the purview of this description are intended to be included therein as well It is u
15. nderstood that the description herein is intended to be illustrative only and is not intended to be limitative Rather the scope of the invention described herein is limited only by the claims appended hereto The invention claimed is 1 A swing monitoring watch comprising a piezo sensor an accelerometer monitoring circuitry configured to receive signals from the piezo sensor and the accelerometer and configured to determine based at least in part on one or more received signals a swing speed of a swing an elapsed time of a swing and a grip pressure of a swing a display configured to display information determined by the monitoring circuitry and a wrist strap for mounting the piezo sensor the accelerom eter the monitoring circuitry and the display to a wrist wherein the mounting of the piezo sensor provides for generation of signals responsive to changes in circum ference of the wrist caused by muscle movement 2 The swing monitoring watch of claim 1 further compris ing circuitry for determining a skill level based at least in part on information determined by the monitoring circuitry 3 The swing monitoring watch of claim 1 comprising an analog to digital signal converter 4 The swing monitoring watch of claim 1 comprising a micro processor 20 25 30 35 8 5 The swing monitoring watch of claim 1 wherein the display comprises a liquid crystal display 6 The swing monitoring watch of claim 1 compris
16. ng recording and displaying a user s grip pressure exerted on a handle or grip of a golf club during a swing
17. ow handicap and scratch golfers will only vary their swing slightly or not at all on repeated swings The user can set one or two of the variables being moni tored Having set one or two of the variables of the desired swing the monitor will alert the user to deviations from the preset values A flashing red light immediately below the SPEED and or TIME labels will tell which parameter devia tions exist The range of tolerances for the deviations is determined by the individual handicap To change the values saved in the system simply press the START button Otherwise saved values for the MPH and ET will be retained even if the instrument is turned Off i e the unit is in the sleep mode Therefore the next time the unit activated the last settings will appear A sleep mode is included to conserve energy when the device is inactive for sixty seconds In the sleep mode the memory retains the last values stored In accordance with this invention the application of over swing or under swing is indicated by sounding an alarm 407 noted above Through the use of this training device the golfer can learn to avoid or eliminate any variation from the swing that gives the best results By using this golf band as a training device the golfer can ultimately memorize the type of golf swing which is desired to optimize the playing of the game The utility of this invention is derived from learning theory which in
18. rror before activating the AUDIBLE ALERT SIGNAL 204 The volume on the AUDIBLE ALERT SIGNAL 204 can be adjusted to accommodate the ambience Alternatively the volume can be turned off while the AUDIBLE ALERT SIGNAL volume indicator will illu minate indicating the user has executed a swing outside the parameter settings of the benchmark swing Finally there is a BATTERY LIFE INDICATOR 203 on the LCD As the 3 volt lithium battery runs low on charge the user will be able to determine from visual inspection when the battery needs changing Several features are programmed into the instant invention to conserve battery life For example when no swinging motion is executed by the user after a benchmark swing has been saved for 30 seconds the device automatically goes into sleep mode Only the memory of the pre settings are retained while no other functions will be operational until the START BUTTON 100 is pressed again Referring now to FIG 3 there is shown a block diagram of the swing monitor system 300 of the instant invention This system is disposed within a suitable housing to form the instrumentation package described in FIG 1 supra In this embodiment the microcontroller 350 is the basic operational and computational component of the system The microcontroller 350 can be any type of microprocessor such as a low power CMOS chip of any conventional design Microprocessor There are several choices available from the off the
19. rror factors in statistically sig nificant trials will generally distribute normally This inven tion seeks to heighten and narrow that distribution modal by providing instantaneous information ideally leading to the reduction of error signals over repeated trials BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a schematic drawing of one embodiment of the training device of the instant invention Each of the operator controls are identified FIG 2 is a schematic representation of one design of a monitoring unit ofthe instant invention including the display area US 8 123 624 B2 3 FIG 3 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the moni toring circuit of the instant invention FIG 4 is a flow chart ofthe operation ofthe system shown in FIG 3 DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG 1 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of the instant invention In particular this configuration includes arubberized vinyl wrist strap and a metal monitor housing or instrumentation package The electronics package inside the housing can be removed from the strap if desired The con trols are operated by the user in the following sequence The START BUTTON 100 activates the instrument Next the user sets his or her HANDICAP 104 indicating their par ticular skill level For example a handicap close to 00 would indicate a high level of golf proficiency As the value of the handicap setting is increased approaching 99
20. sensor registers grip pressure in a positive range and conversely as grip pressure loosens the sensor registers in a negative range The invention possesses memory functions which allow the user to save the tempo and speed and grip pressure param eters following the swing that produces good results In other words on a driving range the golfer hits a long straight shot He simply presses the SAVE button on the invention and the parameter values will be retained in memory These values become the benchmark values against which subsequent golf swings are compared Should the values on the subsequent swing differ from those of the parameter settings an error message in the form of an audible signal will be activated The range of tolerance before an error message is generated is also variable The invention possesses a HANDICAP set ting Should the user set a very low HANDICAP say approaching zero the error message or signal will be gener ated by very slight departure from the parameter values Con versely higher HANDICAP settings will be more forgiving with a larger margin of error before generating a signal Thus the utility of the invention is to enhance muscle memory helping the golfer learn to groove his or her swing The nearly instantaneous feedback makes the user aware that they have either repeated their best swing or failed to do so As with most motor skills the greatest proficiency is achieved through repetitive trials The e
21. sented to the microcontroller 350 The signal generated by the accelerom eter then is converted to a reasonably accurate approximation of the club head speed which is provided at display 305 The microcontroller 350 in addition to supplying the sig nals to the display 305 also can supply signals to alarms 307 mounted in the instrumentation package 224 The alarms can be either audible or visual or both The audible alarm can take the form of a buzzer which alerts the golfer to an improper swing in terms of departures from the preset values or parameters saved in memory The pressure sensors 303 are electric piezo type sensor strips encased in the instrument package The muscles and tendons in the wrist at the pulse point expand and contract as the hand s grip tightens and loosens A discriminating elec trical signal is transmited first to the A D converter and then to the microprocessor Up to five distinct grip pressure readings are captured in a golf swing The arithmetic mean is computed and that value is displayed and or saved in the memory Activation of the instrumentation package occurs when the device is turned on at the START BUTTON 100 There are links between the chronometer 303 and accelerometer 306 such that at the instant the accelerometer 306 registers motion the chronometer 303 starts the timing sequence The timing or tempo measurement takes place during the interval from back swing to contact with the ball Field tests
22. wing speed and elapsed time of the swing beginning and ending when the club is perpendicular to the ground in the first instance when the golfer pulls the club away from the ball t 0 and secondly when the club makes contact with the ball t 1 As distinct from Sabatino et al U S Pat No 5 688 183 the speed measurement velocity of the present invention is captured by an instrument worn on the wrist and is therefore synonymous with hand speed during the swing as opposed to Golf Club Velocity as specified in the title of the Sabatino et al invention Unique to the present invention is the skill level or HANDI CAP setting which allows the user to specify his her expertise in executing a golf swing The present invention s rationale is a bio feedback device that alerts the users if he she has diverted from their pre set swing parameters As such the higher the skill level or HANDICAP setting the narrower the range of permitted divergence from the pre set parameters Such departures may be signaled by an audible signal or a numeric representation of the watch face of the present inven tion BACKGROUND 1 Field of the Invention This invention is directed to a golf training or teaching device in general and to sucha training device in the form of a strap or band to be worn on the wrist of the user and which incorporates components and assemblies for measuring vari ous parameters of the golf swing 2 Prior Art Statement Golf
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