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Monitoring sports and swimmingMonitoring sports and swimming description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080018532, Monitoring sports and swimming. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] This invention relates to a method and system for monitoring performance characteristics of swimmers and in particular the particular movements which contribute to enhanced performance. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION [0002] Monitoring of athletes performance both in training and in competition, is important in the development and implementation of new approaches aimed at improving sporting performance. [0003] The ability to measure and record athlete physiological information and positional information associated with athlete movement in real-time is critical in the process of athlete training and coaching. Blood oxygen, respiration, heart rates, velocity, acceleration/force, changes in direction, and position and many other factors are required in elite athlete training and coaching. The position, movement and force information plays an important role in effective analysis of the athlete performance, especially for rowers. For example, the stroke frequency, force and synchronization of athletes are critical for the performance of the rowers in a competition. Currently the stroke information can only be measured in either dedicated sports laboratories or using simulated devices. Reliable analysis of the stroke rate and stroke distance in rowing has been a challenge for a long time due to the availability of the real scenario data, in particular a high precision of position, velocity and acceleration data. Existing technologies used for this purpose include theoretical studies, video-footage procedure, indoor tank procedure, computer modeling and ergometer studies. Much of the equipment is either too heavy, expensive, obtrusive or less reliable. Therefore, smart real-time monitoring during training and competition to help elite athletes to improve their performance and avoid injuries is critical for both athletes and coaches. Any methodology that would improve the situation would not only bring benefits to the rower practice, but also to many other sports related application including both team sports and individual athlete. [0004] U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,984,986 and 5,099,689 disclose measuring systems for off water rowing apparatus which measure the number of strokes or the force applied to the machine. [0005] U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,649 discloses a monitoring system for sail boat racing which provides feedback to the crew of such parameters as wind speed and direction boat speed, sail boat comfort parameters, sail shape, line tensions, rudder angle etc. [0006] Some development of monitoring systems has occurred in non water sports. U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,262 discloses a bike mounted sports computer including a GPS receiver to provide a mapping facility. [0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,722 discloses swimmers goggles which incorporate a timer and a display. An accelerometer senses the tumble turns to count laps and the goggles include a strap to sense the pulse of the swimmer. Such head-mounted systems make it difficult to discriminate between the movements of the head and the rest of the body of the swimmer. [0008] Wrist watch type sensors for swimmers have also been proposed as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,864,518 and application 2004/0020856. [0009] Recently proposed swimming loggers prefer a display in the goggles. [0010] U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,228 discloses a device attached to a swimmers waist. The device includes an impeller magnetic device which is able to signal changes in speed to a visual display worn by the swimmer. [0011] U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,722 discloses a goggle mounted accelerometer and display. [0012] WO/03061779 suggests displaying real time data visually in the goggles but does not suggest aural display. This disclosure favors separation of the display from the motion sensor which is located preferably on the back with RF transmission to the display. There is a suggestion of monitoring pulse rate using a temporal artery and to integrate the whole device into one unit on the goggles. [0013] Accelerometers are able to detect changes in acceleration but do not provide a meaningful measure of velocity. [0014] It is an object of this invention to provide a device for real time monitoring of swimmers that is useful during a training session and also for coaches to carry out detailed analysis after the training session. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0015] To this end the present invention provides a data acquisition system for use in swimming which incorporates [0016] a) a global position sensor to derive 3 dimensional positioning data relative to time elapse [0017] b) at least one accelerometer to derive acceleration and velocity data in 3 dimensions [0018] c) a microcontroller with a clock to interrogate the global position sensor preferably at a frequency of at least 1 Hz and to measure the accelerometer data [0019] d) a power supply [0020] e) communication means for transmission of global position and accelerometer data from the microcontroller to a remote computer device [0021] f) the remote computer device being programmed to use the global position and accelerometer data to provide accurate and continuous output of parameters such as velocity acceleration and distance traveled. [0022] This device will provide positional data from the training and competition environment and provide both athlete physiological data and performance data related to the sport. [0023] The movement sensor is an accelerometer combined with a GPS unit to sense instantaneous position and velocity. A GPS receiver transmitter is included in the device to derive location and speed parameters. [0024] Preferably physiological sensors are also attached to the athlete and integrated with the sensor system. Heart rate is the prime parameter to be measured and this may be sensed using electrical sensors or microphones. Respiratory rate is also important and may be measured by sensing the stretching of a chest band or using a microphone and signal recognition software. Another parameter is arterial oxygen saturation which may be measured non invasively by a sensor, placed on an earlobe or finger tip, using pulse oximetry employing an infra red absorption technique. Infra-red spectroscopy may be used for non invasive measurement of blood lactate concentrations. [0025] Preferably velocity is derived from the global position sensor and the accelerometer data is sampled to obtain movement characteristics of the sport being monitored. Preferably the accelerometer data is integrated to derive velocity related movement characteristics and drift is checked every second using the output from the global position sensor. [0026] This system provides a platform device which can be used for a wide range of sports simply by providing appropriate software to derive from the accelerometer and GPS data, the desired sport parameters such as stride frequency velocity stride length, vertical acceleration, time off the ground for long jumping and events such as aerial skiing. The system of this invention can be used in swimming to identify stroke type, turns, and with turns the number of laps and the stroke rate per lap as well as lap times. Careful analysis of each stroke can show the efficiency and power by comparing the acceleration and deceleration cycles and the effect of breathing cycles. In open water swimming the GPS can also be used to provide an indication of location, direction, and speed relative to the course. [0027] The device of this invention may also include an accelerometer so that tri-athletes who run and swim can obtain accelerometer (pedometer) based speed and distance data for the land portion of their activities. Similarly GPS devices may also be included to derive similar distance and speed data. By adding a magnetometer to the unit on the cyclist pedal cadence can be sensed. [0028] Alternatively pedal cadence can be sensed by a unit on the bike and transferred to the unit on the cyclist using a radio frequency pickup unit. Continue reading about Monitoring sports and swimming... Full patent description for Monitoring sports and swimming Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Monitoring sports and swimming patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Monitoring sports and swimming or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Efficient space-time adaptive processing (stap) filter for global positioning system (gps) receivers Next Patent Application: Electronic beam steering for keyhole avoidance Industry Class: Communications: directive radio wave systems and devices (e.g., radar, radio navigation) ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Monitoring sports and swimming patent info. 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