Glove and system for tracking striking of ball

Abstract

A glove and system measure the speed, angle, and vertical distance of a ball struck by a player. A glove worn in the striking hand of the user includes one or more sensors. A short-range wireless transmitted sends sensor signals to nodes and/or a hub. The nodes detect a position of the ball proximate a net. The nodes provide another signal to the hub. The hub may be wirelessly connected to a software application on a computing device. The software application includes a user interface displaying measurements associated with the ball that was struck.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 an article configured to be held or carried;   a plurality sensors integrated into the article;   a wireless transmitter in the article and coupled to the plurality of sensors;   one or more detectors coupled to a support, and positioned remotely from the article, wherein the one or more detectors are configured to detect a position of the article;   a processor coupled to a receiver, wherein the processor is configured to:
 receive a first signal from the plurality of sensors integrated into the article in response to a ball being struck, 
 receive a second signal from the one or more detectors positioned remotely from the article, 
 determine a position of the article based on the second signal, and 
 determine an angle at which the ball was struck by the article based on the first signal. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising an inertial measurement unit in the article and coupled to the plurality of sensors. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the inertial measurement unit includes an accelerometer and a gyroscope. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine a speed at which the ball was struck. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the article is a glove. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the support is a net. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine a distance of the glove from the net when the ball is struck. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine a vertical distance of the glove from a reference point. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the article includes an identifier. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the computing device is further configured to determine the article based on the identifier and record statistics associated with use of the article. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to be in a sleep mode until a movement of the article is detected. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a computing device configured to display data associated with the ball being struck.