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Motion sensor in sporting equipmentRelated Patent Categories: Games Using Tangible Projectile, Projectile, Per Se; Part Thereof Or Accessory Therefor, With Light-emitting, Electrical, Magnetic, Or Rotatable Inertial Means Or Having Boundary-detector Activating MeansMotion sensor in sporting equipment description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070032318, Motion sensor in sporting equipment. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND [0001] In many sports, various types of equipment are used. This equipment can be categorized into three wide classes. The first class of equipment includes equipment that serves as a marker or symbol of possession. Typical examples of such markers of possession include balls or disks. [0002] The second class of equipment includes extensions to the athlete. Typical examples of such extensions of the athlete include a club, a bat or a racket. The success a person achieves as an athlete is often determined by skillful use of extensions and by controlling skillful interactions between an extension and a marker or symbol of possession. [0003] The third class of sports equipment is equipment that monitors sports activity. This includes equipment such as speedometers, pedometers, stopwatches and so on. [0004] For example, in the game of golf, a golfer holds a golf club, and swings the golf club through impact striking a golf ball and causing the golf ball to move in an intended direction. When the golf ball is far away from the intended hole destination, for example when a golfer is striking the golf ball from a teeing area, it is often desirable for the golfer to strike the golf ball with a golf club with a sufficient force to impart substantial velocity to the golf ball while still as accurately as possible controlling the direction and distance the golf ball ultimately travels. Several factors, including golf club speed at impact, the location of the clubface that comes into contact with the golf ball, and the orientation of the clubface with respect to the target at impact, have a significant effect in determining the final resting place of the golf ball. The ability to monitor these factors is important feedback in training a golfer to strike the golf ball with efficiency and accuracy and in evaluating golf equipment. [0005] Golf balls are dimpled, but not solely for aesthetic reasons. Golf balls are dimpled primarily for the purpose of imparting desirable aerodynamic qualities to the flight of the golf ball. For example, appropriately placed dimples allow a golf ball to fly an optimal distance for a given initial velocity. The addition of spin to the golf ball, imparted to the golf ball at impact by the golf club, interacts with aerodynamic forces and affects the height, the distance and the direction of flight of the golf ball. The ability to impart a desired spin to a golf ball is a very important ability to those highly skilled in the game of golf. [0006] When a highly skilled golfer practices, the golfer often watches the flight of the golf ball for clues as to impact conditions of the golf club with the golf ball. In addition, for the very devoted analyst of golf equipment and golf swing mechanics, additional monitoring tools can be used, such as high-speed video, speed guns, digital cameras, high-speed strobes, and image analysis equipment. Properly used, these tools can provide additional information about impact and launch conditions of the golf ball. [0007] Golf is not the only sport where spin imparted to a ball is important. In fact, for any sport that involves projectiles traveling through air, control of spin rate and direction of travel are very important factors in success in competition. For example, in baseball, highly skilled pitchers of baseballs are able to impart a specific type of spin to the baseball. The interaction of the spin of the baseball with the non-uniform surface of the baseball and air currents cause the baseball's trajectory to vary as it moves from the pitcher hand towards the vicinity of a baseball batter. The ability to throw a baseball that has various curved trajectories is possible by controlling the spin on a baseball. Feedback on the actual spin placed on a baseball at a pitching release point can thus be very helpful feedback to a pitcher. Similarly, launch information for footballs, Frisbee flying disks, and other similar sporting equipment can be very useful in the design, evaluation and use of sporting equipment. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE [0008] In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, sports equipment includes an embedded optical sensor. The embedded optical sensor includes an image array and a navigation engine. The navigation engine receives image information originating from the image array and performs a correlation on the image information to calculate overlap of images and to determine shift between images in order to detect motion. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0009] FIG. 1 shows optical motion sensors embedded in a ball in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [0010] FIG. 2 shows a simplified block diagram of an optical motion sensor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [0011] FIG. 3 shows a simplified block diagram of multiple optical motion sensors in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. [0012] FIG. 4 illustrates optical motion sensors embedded in a baseball bat in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [0013] FIG. 5 illustrates an optical motion sensor embedded in the head of a golf club in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [0014] FIG. 6 illustrates optical motion sensors embedded in a football and in a flying disk, such as a Frisbee flying disk, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [0015] FIG. 7 illustrates a training station used to obtain and analyze information from optical motion sensors embedded in sports equipment in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [0016] FIG. 8 shows optical motion sensors embedded in a strap to form sports equipment for monitoring activity of a performer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT [0017] FIG. 1 shows an optical motion sensor 11, an optical motion sensor 12 and an optical motion sensor 13 embedded in a ball 10. For example, ball 10 is sports equipment, such as a baseball, a golf ball or another ball used when playing a game or sport. Optical motion sensors 11, 12 and 13 are embedded in locations of ball 10 such that they point in orthogonal directions. This allows detection and monitoring of the direction of travel and spin of ball 10. If less complete information is desired, fewer optical motion sensors can be utilized. The use of additional optical motion sensors can be used if redundant information is desired. [0018] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an optical motion sensor. An image array 21 is implemented, for example, using a 32 by 32 array of photodetectors. Alternatively, other array sizes can be used, dependent upon the image resolution necessary to give sufficient information for a particular application. An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 22 receives analog signals from image array 21 and converts the signals to digital data. [0019] An automatic gain control (AGC) 23 evaluates digital data received from ADC 22 and controls shutter speed and gain adjust within image array 21. This is done, for example, to prevent saturation or underexposure of images captured by image array 21. [0020] A navigation engine 24 evaluates the digital data from ADC 22 and performs a correlation to calculate overlap of images and to determine shift between images in order to detect motion. For example, the correlation is performed using an image processing algorithm such as a convolution, or can be performed in another way to detect image shift. Navigation engine 24 determines a delta x value placed on an output 25 and determines a delta y value placed on an output 26. Image array 21, ADC 22 and navigation engine 24 together form a tracking device that tracks motion of ball 10. Continue reading about Motion sensor in sporting equipment... Full patent description for Motion sensor in sporting equipment Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Motion sensor in sporting equipment 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. 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