Pressure sensing sport ball system and related methods of use

Abstract

In one instance, disclosed herein is a pressure sensing sport ball system, including: a casing that forms an exterior of a sport ball; a bladder disposed within the casing; a pressure sensor coupled to the bladder and operative to generate pressure data by gauging the pressure of a fluid contained within the bladder; and at least one processor operative to: access the pressure data generated by the pressure sensor; determine, based at least in part on the pressure data, that the sport ball has been impacted; and output an indication that the sport ball has been impacted.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A pressure sensing sport ball system, the system comprising:
 a casing that forms an exterior of a sport ball;   a bladder disposed within the casing;   a pressure sensor coupled to the bladder and operative to generate pressure data by gauging the pressure of a fluid contained within the bladder; and   at least one processor operative to:
 access the pressure data generated by the pressure sensor; 
 determine, based at least in part on the pressure data, that the sport ball has been impacted; and 
 output an indication that the sport ball has been impacted. 
   
     
     
         2 . The pressure sensing sport ball system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further operative to determine, based at least in part on the pressure data, whether the sport ball has been impacted by a surface or an animated member. 
     
     
         3 . The pressure sensing sport ball system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further operative to:
 determine, based at least in part on the pressure data, that the sport ball has been impacted by an animated member; and   determine at least a partial shape of the animated member.   
     
     
         4 . The pressure sensing sport ball system of  claim 1 , further comprising a graphical user interface (GUI) executed on a computing device and wherein the at least one processor is further operative to cause the GUI to display the pressure data generated by the pressure sensor. 
     
     
         5 . The pressure sensing sport ball system of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor is further operative to cause the GUI to display the pressure data generated by the pressure sensor in real-time. 
     
     
         6 . The pressure sensing sport ball system of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor is further operative to:
 determine, based at least in part on the pressure data, whether the sport ball has been impacted by a surface or by an animated member; and   cause the GUI to display the determination of whether the sport ball has been impacted by a surface or by an animated member.   
     
     
         7 . The pressure sensing sport ball system of  claim 6 , wherein the at least one processor is further operative to receive feedback, from a user of the pressure sensing sport ball system through the GUI, on the determination of whether the sport ball has been impacted by a surface or by an animated member. 
     
     
         8 . The pressure sensing sport ball system of  claim 6 , wherein the at least one processor is further operative to determine whether the sport ball has been impacted by a surface or by an animated member by analyzing a pressure hysteresis representing the pressure data generated by the pressure sensor. 
     
     
         9 . The pressure sensing sport ball system of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor is further operative to analyze the pressure hysteresis by comparing a characteristic feature of the pressure hysteresis to a threshold. 
     
     
         10 . The pressure sensing sport ball system of  claim 9 , wherein the characteristic feature of the pressure hysteresis includes one or more of rest pressure, peak pressure, rising curve duration, falling curve duration, total duration, and pressure differential. 
     
     
         11 . A method for monitoring the pressure within a sport ball, the method comprising:
 gauging the pressure of a fluid contained within a bladder of a sport ball;   generating pressure data that can be accessed by a processor;   determining, based at least in part on the pressure data, that the sport ball has been impacted; and   causing a graphical user interface (GUI) to display a visual indication that the sport ball has been impacted.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising causing the GUI to display the pressure data. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising causing the GUI to display the pressure data in real-time. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 determining, based at least in part on the pressure data, whether the sport ball has been impacted by a surface or by an animated member; and   causing the GUI to display the determination of whether the sport ball has been impacted by a surface or by an animated member.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising receiving feedback, from a user of the pressure sensing sport ball system through the GUI, on the determination of whether the sport ball has been impacted by a surface or by an animated member. 
     
     
         16 . A pressure sensing sport ball apparatus, comprising:
 a casing that forms an exterior of a sport ball;   a bladder disposed within the casing; and   a pressure sensor disposed within the bladder and operative to:   gauge the pressure of a fluid contained within the bladder; and   generate pressure data that can be used by at least one processor to determine that the sport has been impacted.   
     
     
         17 . The pressure sensing sport ball apparatus of  claim 16 , further comprising the processor. 
     
     
         18 . The pressure sensing sport ball apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the pressure sensor and the at least one processor are housed within a pocket disposed within the bladder. 
     
     
         19 . The pressure sensing sport ball apparatus of  claim 16 , further comprising a wireless communication component operative to transmit the pressure data generated by the pressure sensor to the at least one processor. 
     
     
         20 . The pressure sensing sport ball apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the pressure sensor and the wireless communication component are housed within a pocket disposed within the bladder.