Method and apparatus for sport swing analysis system

Abstract

A sports swing analysis system detects and analyzes swing parameters at the point of contact between a swung implement and the object that the swing is directed at.

1 . A golf swing analyzer comprising: 
 swing sensing apparatus configured to sense the motion of a golf club at the point of contact between the golf club head and a golf ball; and    a controller configured to analyze the motion of the golf club.    
   
   
       2 . The swing analyzer of  claim 1  wherein the sensing apparatus comprises a radiation source configured to emit electromagnetic radiation toward a location in the path of a swung sports implement and a radiation receiver configured to receive electromagnetic radiation reflected from the swung sports implement, and a radiation source and receiver are positioned to respectively emit radiation to and receive reflected radiation from a golf club head as the golf club head is in contact with a golf ball.  
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the sensing apparatus comprises a radiation source configured to emit electromagnetic radiation toward a location in the path of a swung sports implement and a radiation receiver configured to receive electromagnetic radiation reflected from the swung sports implement, wherein a radiation source and receiver pairs are positioned to detect club head motion at equidistant points along the club head path before and after the point of contact with a golf ball.  
   
   
       4 . A golf swing analyzer comprising: 
 swing sensing apparatus configured to sense the motion of a golf club at the point of contact between a golf club head and a golf ball;    a processer configured to analyze the motion of the golf club;    a retroreflective strip coupled to the golf club head;    a light source configured to emit light toward a location in a path of the swung golf club;    a light receiver configured to receive light reflected from the reflective materials; and    the controller further configured to generate at least one signal for each transition in light level reflected from the reflective material attached to the club.    
   
   
       5 . The system of  claim 4  wherein the processor is further configured to: 
 differentiate a signal generated by light reflected from the attached reflective material; and    correlate the differentiated signal to transitions in light levels reflected from the reflective material.    
   
   
       6 . The system of  claim 5  wherein the processor is further configured to: 
 divide the width of the attached reflective material by the time between two transitions in light reflected from the reflective material to obtain the club head speed.    
   
   
       7 . The system of  claim 6  wherein the processor is further configured to: 
 compare the club head speed to a threshold club head speed to determine whether the transitions in light level are associated with an undesirable artifact.    
   
   
       8 . The system of  claim 7  wherein the processor is further configured to: 
 receive reflected light at a plurality of locations; and    divide the distance between two receiving locations by the time between two light transition events to obtain the club head speed.    
   
   
       9 . The system of  claim 8  wherein the processor is further configured to: 
 correlate reflected light signals for a plurality of locations to determine whether the light level transitions are associated with an undesirable artifact.    
   
   
       10 . A golf swing analysis method for use with a golf club comprising the steps of: 
 (A) sensing the motion of a golf club at the point of contact with a golf ball; and    (B) analyzing the motion of the golf club.    
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising the steps of: 
 (C) a radiation source emitting electromagnetic radiation toward a location in the path of a swung golf club,    (D) a radiation receiver receiving electromagnetic radiation reflected from the swung golf club; and    (E) a controller generating at least one signal for each transition in light level reflected from the golf club head.    
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising the steps of: 
 (F) a radiation source emitting electromagnetic radiation toward a location in the path of a swung sports implement;    (G) a radiation receiver receiving electromagnetic radiation reflected from the swung sports implement; wherein the radiation source and receiver are positioned to respectively emit radiation to and receive reflected radiation from a golf club head as the golf club head is in contact with a golf ball.    
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising the step of: 
 (H) dividing the width of a retroreflective material coupled to the gold club head by the time between two transitions in light reflected from the reflected material to obtain the club head speed.    
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising the step of: 
 (A) comparing the club head speed to a threshold club head speed to determine whether the transitions in light level are associated with club head movement of interest or the transitions are associated with an undesirable artifact.    
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising the steps of: 
 (B) receiving reflected light at a plurality of locations; and    (C) dividing the distance between two receiving locations by the time between two light transition events to obtain the club head speed.    
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising the steps of: 
 (D) correlating reflected light signals for a plurality of locations to determine whether the light level transitions are associated with club head movement of interest or the transitions are associated with an undesirable artifact.    
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising the step of: 
 (M) employing a plurality of transmitters and receivers along the expected golf club head flight path; and    (N) using one or more of the receivers as a trigger for other transmitters and receivers, whereby the activation of a trigger receiver by reflected light activates non-trigger transmitters and receivers.    
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the step of activating non-trigger transmitters and receivers further comprises the step of: 
 (O) activating the transmitters at a high power level.    
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising the step of: 
 (P) computing a club swing path angle.    
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising the step of: 
 (P) computing a club head angle.