US2012264532A1PendingUtilityA1

Method and apparatus for evaluating a putt

51
Individually held — no corporate assignee on recordPriority: May 12, 2008Filed: Jun 4, 2012Published: Oct 18, 2012
Est. expiryMay 12, 2028(~1.8 yrs left)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
Inventors:David Rankin
A63B 69/3676A63B 69/36G01N 2203/0676A63B 2220/30A63B 2225/50A63B 57/00
51
PatentIndex Score
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Claims

Abstract

A method, system and golf ball of the present invention determine the side spin and/or back spin of a golf ball in order to facilitate the evaluation of a putt. In one embodiment, a system includes a golf ball and an offboard display device. The golf ball includes a golf ball body, a motion sensor disposed within the golf ball body and configured to measure acceleration of the golf ball along each of three mutually perpendicular axis, and a transmitter disposed within the golf ball body configured to transmit data representative of spin of the golf ball. The display device includes a receiver and a display, and the receiver is configured to receive data representative of the spin of the golf ball from the transmitter and the display is configured to provide a representation of a measure of the spin of the golf ball.

Claims

exact text as granted — not AI-modified
1 . A golf ball comprising:
 a golf ball body; a motion sensor disposed within the golf ball body and configured to measure acceleration of the golf ball along each of three mutually perpendicular axis;   a processor disposed within the golf ball body and configured to determine spin of the golf ball based upon the acceleration measured by the motion sensor; and   a transmitter disposed within the golf ball body and configured to transmit data representative of the spin of the golf ball offboard the golf ball.   
     
     
         2 . A golf ball according to  claim 1  wherein the processor is configured to determine at least one of backspin or side spin. 
     
     
         3 . A golf ball according to  claim 2  wherein the processor is configured to determine the side spin of the golf ball based upon a time rate of angular rotation of an acceleration vector about a vertical axis. 
     
     
         4 . A golf ball according to  claim 2  wherein the processor is configured to determine the backspin of the golf ball based upon a time rate of angular rotation of an acceleration vector about a horizontal axis. 
     
     
         5 . A golf ball according to  claim 1  wherein the processor is further configured to determine a skid time or a bounce count. 
     
     
         6 . A golf ball according to  claim 1  wherein the processor is configured to determine a score based upon at least the spin of the golf ball. 
     
     
         7 . A method for evaluating a putt, the method comprising:
 measuring acceleration of a golf ball along each of three mutually perpendicular axis with a motion sensor and a transmitter embedded with a golf ball body of a golf ball;   transmitting data representative of spin of the golf ball;   receiving the data representative of the spin of the golf ball at a location offboard the golf ball;   displaying a representation of a measure of the spin of the golf ball; and   determining the spin of the golf ball based upon the acceleration measured by the motion sensor and prior to displaying the representation of the deceleration of the golf ball.   
     
     
         8 . A method according to  claim 7  wherein determining the spin occurs prior to transmitting the data representative of the spin. 
     
     
         9 . A method according to  claim 7  wherein determining the spin occurs after receiving the data representative of the spin of the golf ball. 
     
     
         10 . A method according to  claim 7  wherein determining the spin comprises determining at least one of backspin or side spin. 
     
     
         11 . A method according to  claim 10  wherein determining the spin comprises determining the side spin of the golf ball based upon a time rate of angular rotation of an acceleration vector about a vertical axis. 
     
     
         12 . A method according to  claim 10  wherein determining the spin comprises determining the backspin of the golf ball based upon a time rate of angular rotation of an acceleration vector about a horizontal axis. 
     
     
         13 . A method according to  claim 7  further comprising determining a skid time or a bounce count. 
     
     
         14 . A method according to  claim 7  further comprising determining a score based upon at least the spin of the golf ball.

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