U.S. patent number 6,582,330 [Application Number 09/848,196] was granted by the patent office on 2003-06-24 for electronic football capable of measuring throwing statistics.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Rehco, LLC. Invention is credited to Bret Gould, Michael Kass, Steven Rehkemper.
United States Patent |
6,582,330 |
Rehkemper , et al. |
June 24, 2003 |
Electronic football capable of measuring throwing statistics
Abstract
The electronic football of the present invention is capable of
calculating various throwing statistics. The electronic football
includes a start switch in communication with a timer means that
starts when the start switch is released approximately
simultaneously when the football is thrown. Upon impact, an impact
switch triggers the timer to stop, thereby providing the total
flight time. The electronic football further includes a pressure
sensor positioned in an opening in the forward section of the
football for measuring the air pressure when the football is
thrown. The pressure readings are received by a microprocessor,
which calculates the various throwing statistics. The throwing
statistics may further be displayed on a display screen or emitted
through a speaker.
Inventors: |
Rehkemper; Steven (Chicago,
IL), Kass; Michael (Willowbrook, IL), Gould; Bret
(Chicago, IL) |
Assignee: |
Rehco, LLC (Chicago,
IL)
|
Family
ID: |
25302611 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/848,196 |
Filed: |
May 4, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/570; 446/484;
473/569 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B
41/00 (20130101); A63B 43/00 (20130101); A63B
71/06 (20130101); A63B 2208/12 (20130101); A63B
2243/007 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63B
41/00 (20060101); A63B 43/00 (20060101); A63B
71/06 (20060101); A63B 043/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;273/108.4 ;473/569-570
;446/484 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hughes; S. Thomas
Assistant Examiner: White; Carnien D.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electronic football capable of calculating throwing
statistics comprising: a housing; a resilient outer body placed
about the housing, the outer body having a forward section that
includes an opening; an air pressure gauge positioned in the
opening of the forward section for measuring air pressure when the
football is thrown; an analog-to-digital conversion means for
receiving a pressure sensor reading from the pressure gauge and
converting said pressure sensor reading to a digital pressure
sensor reading; a microprocessor having a timer means and a memory
means, the timer means for determining a total flight time and the
memory means for storing throwing statistics, the microprocessor is
secured within the housing and is in communication with the
analog-to-digital conversion means for receiving the digital
pressure sensor reading and the flight time in order to calculate
throwing statistics; a means for replaying the throwing statistics
in communication with the microprocessor; and a battery source for
providing power to said microprocessor.
2. The electronic football of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor
calculates the total distance (D) of each throw based upon the
following formula:
where g is the gravitational acceleration of the earth, t is 1/2 of
the total flight time, m and b are best-fit-line constants, and pr
is the digital pressure reading.
3. The electronic football of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor
calculates a top speed of each throw.
4. The electronic football of claim 1, wherein the memory means
further stores a history of the throwing statistics such that the
microprocessor may calculate and re-calculate an average and a
maximum value after subsequent throws, and wherein the
microprocessor may be accessed to replay said average and maximum
values.
5. The electronic football of claim 1 further including a start
button and an impact switch in communication with the timer means,
the start button when pressed and released indicates to the timer
means that the flight time has begun and the impact switch
indicates to the timer means that the flight time has ended.
6. The electronic football of claim 5, wherein the impact switch
includes a spring attached to a post in communication with the
microprocessor, such that when the football comes to a stop, the
impact switch signals the microprocessor that the flight time has
ended.
7. The electronic football of claim 1 further comprising an on/off
switch in communication with the battery source.
8. The electronic football of claim 1, wherein the means for
replaying the throwing statistics is a display screen.
9. The electronic football of claim 1, wherein the means for
replaying the throwing statistics is a speaker.
10. The electronic football of claim 1 further including a tail
attached to a rear end of said football, the tail extending along a
symmetrical axis of the football and having fins protruding
radially therefrom.
11. A football having an apparatus for measuring throwing
statistics of the football when thrown by a user where said
apparatus is mounted within said football, said apparatus
comprising: means for timing a total time the football is in the
air starting from the moment the football is released by the user
to the moment the football impacts the ground or is caught by a
subsequent user; means for reading air pressure while the football
is in the air and to generate a signal representative of the air
pressure reading; means for receiving the air pressure reading and
a total time and calculating the total distance the football
traveled while said football was thrown; and means for replaying
said total distance to said user.
12. The football of claim 11, wherein the total distance (D) is
calculated from the following mathematical formula:
where g is the gravitational acceleration of the earth, t is 1/2 of
the total time, m and b are best-fit-line constants, and pr is the
air pressure reading.
13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the air pressure reading
includes a pressure sensor attached to a pitot tube, the pitot tube
being placed in an aperture defined in a forward end of the
football.
14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the means for receiving the
air pressure reading and the total time and calculating the total
distance is performed by a microprocessor having memory means for
storing a history of the total distance for each throw, such that
the microprocessor may calculate an average and maximum from said
history of the total distances.
15. The football of claim 14, wherein the microprocessor further
calculates a top speed of each throw.
16. The football of claim 11, wherein the replaying means is a
display screen mounted within the device and viewable
therethrough.
17. The football of claim 11, wherein the replaying means is a
speaker.
18. The football apparatus of claim 14, wherein the microprocessor
includes the timing means that is in further communication with a
start button that is released upon throwing the football, which
starts the total time and is in communication with an impact switch
that is triggered upon hitting an object, which ends the total
time.
19. An electronic football capable of measuring flight
characteristics comprising: an start button that may be released
when the football is thrown, the start button in communication with
a timer such that when released, the start button begins the timer;
an impact switch that is triggered when the football comes into
contact with another object, the impact switch is in communication
with the timer such that when triggered, the impact switch stops
the timer to provide a total flight time; an air pressure gauge
positioned in an aperture in a forward section of the football, the
air pressure gauge in communication with a microprocessor, the air
pressure gauge provides the microprocessor with various pressure
readings of the air when the football is thrown through the air;
the microprocessor having a means to convert the total flight time
and the various pressure readings into flight characteristics; and
a means to replay said flight characteristics.
20. The football of claim 19, wherein the flight characteristics
include but is not limited to a total distance the football
traveled during the flight time, a speed of the football during the
flight time and the total flight time.
21. The football of claim 20, wherein the microprocessor further
includes memory means to record the flight characteristics such
that the microprocessor may calculate an average value for the
flight characteristics and calculate a maximum value.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to balls, and specifically to, a
football that may be thrown and which includes means to measure and
record specific throwing statistics, such as the distance the ball
was thrown, the speed the ball was thrown and/or the length of time
the ball was in the air, as well as other well known passing or
throwing statistics.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The competitiveness of throwing objects, such as baseballs,
footballs, Frisbees.TM., and the like, are often the subject of
many child and adult games. Many devices or objects have been the
subject of the prior art to increase throwing attributes, such as
the distance or height one may throw the object or the time the
object remains in the air. However, the ability to accurately
measure these throwing attributes has been largely ignored. While
various devices such as velocity measuring devices equipped for
measuring professional pitching speeds and hockey puck shots are
widely used in professional and amateur sports, these devices are
extremely costly to employ and are not designed to be placed within
the objects themselves.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,576 entitled "Throw-Measuring Football"
(referred to herein as the '576 patent) a measuring apparatus is
embedded within the football itself and measures the distance the
football was thrown, the acceleration of the football and the time
aloft. The '576 patent uses an accelerometer to measure the
acceleration of the football. However, if the football is thrown
with too severe of a loft the vertical component of the
acceleration is greater then the horizontal component, causing the
measurements to be inaccurate. In such conditions the '576 patent
displays a "LOB" reading to indicate that the trajectory was too
high (See Col 3, lines 20-25). In addition it was further found
that if the football has the slightest wobble to the throw, there
is an extra component that is added to the acceleration reading by
the accelerometer that should be compensated for or else the
calculations become inaccurate. It is therefore an object of the
present invention to provide a more accurate measurement device
that overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention an electronic football is
capable of calculating various throwing statistics. The electronic
football includes a start switch in communication with a timer
means that starts when the start switch is released substantially
when the football is thrown. Upon impact, an impact switch triggers
the timer to stop, thereby providing a total flight time. The
electronic football further includes a pressure gauge positioned in
an opening in the forward section of the football for measuring the
air pressure when the football is thrown. The pressure readings are
received by a microprocessor, which calculates the various throwing
statistics. The throwing statistics may further be displayed on a
display screen or emitted to the user through a speaker. The
electronic football further includes the ability to track the
history of the throwing statistics thereby providing the means to
calculate averages as well as the maximum values during the
history. The football may further include a tail that projects from
the rearward section of the football providing a means to keep the
football from wobbling.
Numerous other advantages and features of the invention will become
readily apparent from the following detailed description of the
invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims, and from
the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A fuller understanding of the foregoing may be had by reference to
the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic football capable of
measuring throwing statistics in accordance with the present
invention having a display screen for displaying various throwing
statistics;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second electronic football
capable of measuring throwing statistics in accordance with the
present invention having a speaker for emitting various throwing
statistics;
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of an electronic football in accordance
with the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the components of the
electronics of the electronic football in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a representation of the trajectory of the electronic
football with vertical and horizontal components; and
FIG. 6 is a table illustrating test data plotted from various
pressure readings versus total initial velocity permitting the use
of a best-fit-line to determine the total initial velocity from a
given pressure reading.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
While the invention is susceptible to embodiments in many different
forms, there are shown in the drawings and will be described
herein, in detail, the preferred embodiments of the present
invention. It should be understood, however, that the present
disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles
of the invention and is not intended to limit the spirit or scope
of the invention and/or claims of the embodiments illustrated.
Referring first to FIG. 1, a football in accordance with the
present invention is shown and generally referenced to as 10. The
football is designed to provide the user with various throwing
statistics. Such throwing statistics may include the distance the
ball was thrown, the speed the ball was thrown, the length of time
the ball was thrown (flight time) as well as calculating and
storing the total distance, top speed, total flight time, averages
and the total times the ball has been thrown. As opposed to other
footballs that measure throwing statistics by measuring the initial
acceleration with an accelerometer, the present invention measures
velocity by using an air pressure gauge 11 mounted in the forward
section of the football (shown and explained in greater detail
below) providing the present invention with the ability to display
throwing statistics for virtually any angle of trajectory.
Continuing to refer to FIG. 1, the football 10 includes an outer
body 12 preferably made from a resilient foam material or other
soft materials. However, it may also include other known materials
such as leather, rubbers or synthetic mixtures. The football 10
further includes an on/off switch 14 and a start/restart button 16
that are mounted within the interior of the football 10 and
positioned through the outer body 12. The above mentioned throwing
statistics are displayed on a display screen 20 that is also set
within the interior of the football 10 and is viewed through an
opening 18 in the outer body 12. The football 10 may also include
fabricated or molded laces 22 in order to provide the user with the
proper means to grip and throw the football 10.
It is also contemplated that other well-known means for replaying
the statistics may be employed, such as audibly emitting the
statistics through a speaker 24, illustrated in FIG. 2. As such the
statistics may be replayed in any well-known visual or audible
means. After the ball is thrown, the thrower or a second person
(generally referred to as "user") may retrieve the ball and view
the throwing statistics on the display screen 20 or listen to the
same through the speaker 24. The user may further be capable of
scrolling through the statistics or through previously stored
statistics (referred to as a "history") by pressing the
start/restart button 16.
Referring now to FIG. 3, an exploded view of the football 10
illustrated in FIG. 1 is shown. The football 10 includes an outer
body 12 that is preferably resilient to maintain a desired shape.
The outer body 12 is also hollow and includes a small aperture (not
shown) in the forward section 28 of the football 10 for receiving
an air pressure gauge 30. The air pressure gauge 30 consists of a
pitot tube 32 in communication with the atmosphere through the
small aperture and connected to a pressure sensor 34 for measuring
various air pressures traveling through the pitot tube 32. The
information or data is stored by a memory means on a microprocessor
36, such that the data may be utilized to calculate the
aforementioned throwing statistics. The calculations are discussed
in greater detail below.
The microprocessor 36 is connected to a power source 38, such as a
lithium battery cell; however, other well-known battery packs or
power supplies may be utilized. In further communication with the
power source 38 and the microprocessor 36 are the aforementioned
on/off switch 14 and the start/restart button 16. A user may toggle
the power supplied to the microprocessor 36 and other components
through the on/off switch 14. The collected and calculated data is
displayed or emitted through a display screen 20 or the speaker 24,
depending upon the specific embodiment of the present invention. As
illustrated in FIG. 3, the various electronic components are
secured within a housing 40, which is preferably a two-piece
construction.
The housing 40 is secured within the outer body 12 and includes a
window 42 that aligns with the opening 18 in the outer body 12. The
display screen 20 within the housing 40 is fastening therein such
that it may be viewed through the window 42 of the housing 40 and
as such through the opening 18 in the outer body 12.
The football 10 may further include a tail 46 that attaches to a
bayonet mounting 48 secured within the rear section 29 of the
football 10. However, the tail 46 may be secured within the housing
40. The tail 46 includes tail fins 50 that protrude radially from
the tail 46. The tail 46 also includes a bore 52 that receives a
tail fin rod 54. One end 56 of the tail fin rod is further secured
to the bayonet mounting 48 along the same symmetrical axis of the
football 10, thus securing the tail 46 to the football 10. Tail 46
stabilizes the flight of a thrown football, such that the forward
section 28 is continually pointing forwards during flight. However,
the tail 46 is not essential to the operation of the present
invention.
During operation a user turns the football 10 on by toggling the
on/off switch 14 to the on position. Gripping the football 10 about
the laces 22, the user's thumb will also be position to press and
hold down the start/restart button 16. Regardless of whether the
user is left-handed or right-handed, when the football 10 is
gripped about the laces 22 such that the forward section 28 is
pointing in the direction the user wants to throw the football 10,
the user's thumb will also be in position to hold down the
start/restart button 16. Once the user releases the football 10,
the user releases the start/restart button 16 approximately at the
same time the football 10 is released. The instant the
start/restart button 16 is released an internal timer (not shown)
within the microprocessor 36 is started. This timer calculates the
total flight time for each particular throw. Further illustration
is shown by the block diagram in FIG. 4.
A fraction of a second after the football 10 is released the
microprocessor 36 will take a series of readings from the air
pressure gauge 30. The readings from the pressure gauge 30 are
first fed through amplifier circuits 62 to an analog-to-digital
converter 60 that is in communication with the microprocessor 36.
The analog-to-digital converter 60 takes the analog signals from
the pressure gauge 30 and converts the signals to digital
signals.
When the football is caught or lands on the ground an impact switch
64 is triggered. The triggering of the impact switch 64 further
causes the internal timer to stop, thereby providing the
microprocessor 36 with the total flight time the ball was in the
air. The impact switch 64 (also illustrated in FIG. 3) includes a
post 66 with a spring 68 mounted on the microprocessor 36. Upon
impact, the impact switch 64 sends a signal to the microprocessor
36, which will then immediately stop the internal timer. The flight
time and pressure readings are used thereafter to calculate
velocity and distance. These values are sent to the display screen
20 and can be scrolled through by depressing the start/restart
switch 16. Once all the data is displayed the microprocessor 36
displays the word "READY" on the display screen 20 and the user is
ready to throw the football 10 again. When the user is finished
playing, the user may turn the display off, by toggling the on/off
switch 14 to the off position. Alternatively, the football 10 may
be equipped with an automatic shutoff that is set to turn off the
football when not activated for a predetermined period of time. The
user may also reset the stored data and start from the beginning by
pressing and holding the start/restart button 16 for a
predetermined period of time, for instance 3-5 seconds.
A further discussion is now made in relation to the calculations
made and used in determining the distance the football 10 is
thrown. The equations for projectile motion govern, when
calculating the distance ("D"), flight time ("T") and initial
velocity ("V.sub.0 ") for a thrown object. Illustrated in FIG. 5,
the path 70 shows the typical path characterized by the thrown
object. It is important to note that the following equations employ
the fact that the projectile is thrown over a level plane. If you
throw the football at around shoulder height but the other person
catches it at their shoestrings, there will be some error
introduced into distance calculations. In this case, the distance
that the ball calculates would be greater than the actual distance
due to the extra time the ball was in the air. A second source of
error can be wind. The football uses a pressure gauge to determine
ball velocity as it travels through the air. If there is a wind,
this can affect the overall pressure readings by varying amounts
depending on wind speed, wind direction, etc. For best results, the
football should be thrown perpendicular to the direction of the
wind.
Under vector analysis the initial total velocity V.sub.0 may be
broken into velocity components in both the x and y direction and
is represented under the Pythagorean theorem as the square of the
initial velocity is equal to the sum of the squares of the velocity
in both the x and y direction.
where V.sub.0 is the; V.sub.x0 is the initial velocity in the x
direction and V.sub.y0 is the initial velocity in the y
direction.
If the magnitude of V.sub.0 can be determined, we can easily
determine the magnitude of V.sub.x0 and V.sub.y0 by using the
equations for projectile motion. We can also determine the angle
that the ball was thrown from this information. Using the equations
under projectile motion, we know that:
where V.sub.y is the velocity in the y direction; g is the
acceleration of gravity and t is 1/2 the total flight time (T) or
.sup.T /2. When the football reaches the maximum height in its
trajectory, the velocity in the y direction is 0. Thus, we can
determine the y-component of the initial velocity may be set to
zero at the top of the trajectory, such that the above equation
becomes:
In the case of projectile motion, the velocity that the ball leaves
the ground, ignoring the effects of air friction and assuming that
the ball is thrown over a flat plane, is equal to the velocity that
the ball has when it hits the ground at the end of its flight.
Thus
Since we know V.sub.0 and V.sub.y0, we can solve for V.sub.x0 from
equation 1.0. Thus:
Since the pressure sensor is designed to have a linear output over
its specified range, a linear equation (y=m.multidot.x+b) can be
used to approximate velocities over wider ranges, where y and x are
components in the x, y axis, and m and b are defined as the slope
of the line and the y intercept, respectively. FIG. 6 illustrates
test data taken for pressure readings versus total initial velocity
for a thrown football 10. Since the pressure sensor has a linear
output a linear equation may be extrapolated from the test data
using a best-fit straight line. The linear equation may further be
defined as:
where V.sub.0 is the initial total velocity, m is the slope, pr is
the pressure reading and b is the intercept. From a best-fit line
determination it was found that m is approximately 0.1448643, and b
is approximately 24.4271248.
Furthermore, since projectile motion provides that the distance the
ball traveled in the x-direction (or the football's range) is
determined from:
the above equations may be substituted into equation [7.0],
yielding:
In addition thereto, the angle the ball was thrown at can also be
solved from either V.sub.y0 =V.sub.0 sin .O slashed. or V.sub.x0
=V.sub.0 cos .O slashed. where .O slashed. is the angle. Similarly,
the aforementioned equations can be used to determine other flight
characteristics, for instance the total height of the football at
the top of its path, or the top speed, which would be determined
from the maximum pressure sensor reading taken within a short time
period after releasing the start/restart button.
From the foregoing and as mentioned above, it will be observed that
numerous variations and modifications may be effected without
departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concept of the
invention. It is contemplated that the above invention may be used
with a glider or airplane or other thrown projectiles. Moreover, it
is readily apparent that the equations represented above are but
one way in determining the throwing statistics and the calculated
best-fit line may be adjusted if the pressure sensor outputs a
maximum value at a distance shorter than what is desired as a
maximum distance reading, such that new data may be plotted and
recalculated to determine a subsequent best fit line equation. It
is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific
methods and apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be
inferred. It is, of course, intended to cover by the appended
claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the
claims.
* * * * *